The Wheels of Fate (1)
by Sylkes
Summary: Danielle Sullivan had everything she could wish for - a warm home and a happy family. However, in just a snap, everything she held dear was taken from her, leaving her with no choice but to move to Mystic Falls. What will happen to her as she opens a new chapter in her life where every hidden secret is revealed?
1. Prologue

**Danielle**

The sound of my buzzing alarm clock woke me up. I quickly turned it off and got up ready for another day. This day was my first day of school and just the thought of seeing my friends after the long summer break made me smile. After taking a shower, I put on my prepared outfit for the day. I then let my hair dry into its natural curls and applied a light make up.

"Danny, breakfast is ready!" my mother called from downstairs. I grabbed my bag and made my way to the dining room. At the table, my dad was reading a newspaper while my little sister enjoyed her pancakes.

"Morning, Dad!" I happily kissed his cheek.

"Morning, sweetheart," Dad said with quite a thick accent while lowering his newspaper and smiling.

"Morning, Kyla!" I kissed the top of my sister's head.

"Morning, Danny!" She gave me a toothy grin, which made me chuckle, as I settled myself down beside her. I grabbed some pancakes and poured some milk in my glass. My excitement was getting the best of me because I just couldn't seem to calm down while munching my food.

"Are you ready for today darling?" my mother asked me.

"Yup! I can't wait to see my friends again and I'm sure that this year will be another interesting one." My mom and dad chuckled after seeing my enthusiasm.

"I can very much imagine it after seeing the stars in your eyes." Dad teased as he still laughed at me.

"Very funny, Dad," I retorted sounding as angry as possible but miserably failed. Because of that, my parents laughed harder at me. It was already 7:20 a.m. by the time I was done eating. I needed to go since class would start at eight and it would take me about twenty minutes to get to school.

"I'm going." Standing up, I grabbed my bag and gave Kyla a kiss on the cheek.

"Take care." My dad lowered his newspaper as I kissed his cheek.

"I will." I then made my way to the front door as my mom followed me, wanting to see me off.

"Your dad and I are going to Kyla's ballet recital later. Don't come home late because we are going to celebrate after."

"Alright, noted. Bye, Mom!" I gave my mom another kiss before leaving the house and heading to my car.

"Be careful darling!"

"I will!" I then got into my car and drove off, getting more and more excited to see my friends again.

The stereo blared as I sang along with the song being played. Twenty minutes later, I arrived at school and immediately went to look for my friends. It wasn't that hard because they found me as soon as I set foot in one of the school's hallways and gave me a bone-crushing hug. We chatted for a while about what happened over the summer and then the bell rang which marked the start of class.

Time passed by quickly with nothing much happening today although I enjoyed it since I was catching up with my friends. My friends asked me to hang out with them but I refused since I promised mom that I would be home after school.

"I'm home!" I closed the front door and waited for a reply but no one answered.

 _Weird, they said that they would be home by this time_ , I thought. Maybe they just left the venue. I went to the kitchen to make some sandwich when the doorbell then rang. Opening the front door, I was shocked to see an officer, standing before me. Something told me that there was something wrong but I pushed the bad feeling aside.

"Yes?"

"Good afternoon miss, I'm Officer Scott. Are you Ms. Danielle Sullivan?" he asked.

"Yes, that's me." My stomach churned when I heard 'officer'. Why was an officer even looking for me? My gut feel came rushing back as anxiety started to run through my body. There was something wrong and I could feel it in my bones.

"Ms. Sullivan, I'm very sorry to inform you that your family had a car accident." At that moment, my world was crashing down and nothing seemed to process in my head. They promised. We would celebrate Kyla's recital so they would come back. They promised.

"Ms. Sullivan?" The officer looked at me worriedly. I didn't want to believe it unless I saw them with my own eyes.

"No. No, they said they would be back." I shook my head in disbelief as tears threatened to spill from my eyes. My breathing was becoming ragged as I felt my heart beating faster by the second. "Where are they?"

"I'm sorry, miss. Please calm down."

"Where are they?" This time I sternly asked the officer as hesitation was quickly etched on his face.

Officer Scott heaved a sigh before reluctantly saying, "They are rushed to St. Mary's Hospital, ma'am."

With that, I quickly went to my car and ignored the calls of the officer. Arriving at St. Mary's Hospital, I rushed to the emergency wing and informed a nurse of whom I am. My blood ran cold when she told me that one thing that scared me the most. My dad and Kyla never made it and they were declared dead on arrival. Nothing was registering on my head. I just felt numb and broken.

"Ms. Sullivan?" the nurse called, snapping me back to reality.

"What about my mother?"

"Your mother is still alive but barely. She's in critical condition after suffering fatal wounds from the accident." The nurse looked through the reports on her hand. There was still hope.

"Where is she? What's her status?"

"She's currently in the emergency room being prepped for surgery. Ms. Sullivan, we're doing everything we can to save your mother. Please stay put and wait for the doctor's updates."

That was all I needed to know. Adrenaline rushed through me as I quickly dashed to the emergency room. The nurse tried to stop me but I ignored her and quickly continued to walk through the hallways. I couldn't just sit there and wait for their damn updates. I needed to see my mother. She was all that mattered to me in the world at this very dreadful moment.

After a few more turns, I pushed open the double doors of the emergency room and scanned everywhere for my mother. Then, I saw her and it broke me to see her in the state she was in. There she was covered in blood and wounds, fighting to stay alive.

"Mom…" Tears were threatening to spill from my eyes as I approached her but a male nurse stopped me.

"Ma'am, you can't come in here." He then restrained me.

"Let go of me! She's my mother!" I yelled, pushing the nurse away from me.

My mother was covered in blood and I couldn't take it anymore. I finally broke down as I looked at her and brought my hand up to my lips, containing a sob. Her eyes then found mine. The loving and gentle eyes, that I always adored so much, were now looking at me with such pain and sadness.

"Mom…" I gently took her hand, swallowing a lump in my throat. "I'm here. You're going to be okay."

"Dan... Danielle..." she said in a hoarse voice. "I don't… have much time... left..."

"No. Mom, please don't say that. Listen to me." My tears were staining my face and I couldn't stop them. "You're going to be fine. You'll get through this. I'm here with you."

"Sweetheart… listen to me… take care… of yourself… Don't trust… so easily… I'm so… sorry for… everything… Please… forgive me… I… love you so much… Danny…" She weakly reached to touch my cheek and stroked it.

"I will always forgive you. I love you too, Mom." I clutched her hand as she smiled one last time before her hand slipped through my fingers. A tear slid down her eye as she closed them, never to be opened again.

" _No, Mom! Please, Don_ _'_ _t leave me! Please, I_ _'_ _m begging you!_ " I collapsed into my knees and covered my mouth. More tears ran down my cheeks. "I'm begging you… please…"

What did I do wrong for them to be taken away from me? I couldn't live without them.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. All rights go to L.J. Smith, Julie Plec, and Kevin Williamson. I only own my original characters and some details that I will add to the plot.**

Hi, guys! I'm very sorry this took a very long time! :( But as promised, here's the rewritten version! By the way, I can't really put the pictures of the outfits here and for some reasons, the link doesn't open in my profile. So if you guys want to see them, I also published this fanfic in Quotev under the same name.

I hope you enjoy and please tell me what you think! Until next time~! :)

\- Sylkes


	2. Chapter 1

**Danielle**

A week has passed since the car crash and right now, I stood on the front porch of the place that I used to call home. This last week had been rough for me because whenever I entered this house, I was reminded of the happy memories it held and it broke me that I could never go back to those times.

Today was the day that I'd be moving to Mystic Falls, Virginia since my grandmother lived there and she was my only living relative. This would be the last time that I would be here. I wiped my tears and without further ado, I went to my car without looking back.

Thirty minutes later, I arrived at the airport and made my way to the immigration. There was still a bit more time left until the boarding time, so I sat down and closed my eyes to relive a bit of my fatigue.

"Flight to Virginia is now accepting passengers to board," the airport personnel proclaimed.

Standing up, I went to my designated gate and boarded the plane. Thank God, no one sat beside me because I wanted to be alone. I put on my earphones and the soft melody started to fill my ears. With that, I closed my eyes and hoped that the images of my lost family would not haunt me in my sleep this time.

My body slightly jumped as I woke up from my nap when the pilot's voice rang in my ears. The pilot announced that we were about to land so I quickly fixed myself before the plane safely landed on the runway a few minutes later. When the plane went into a full stop and seat belt sign was off, I grabbed my hand carry bag and went out of the plane. The immigration requirements took so much time and finally, it was done.

The drive to Mystic Falls took only an hour and a half, but for me, it felt like days until I saw the sign 'Welcome to Mystic Falls'. My grandma sent me a route to her house because it has been a long time since I've been here, my hometown. A memory suddenly came to my mind as I recalled one of my moments with my mother.

~~~~~X~~~~~

 _After dinner ended, I currently helped my mother wash the dishes as my father watched television with Kyla in the living room. There was something that has been bugging me since this morning. For some reasons, it just popped out of my head after seeing a picture of my childhood friends and me. I just couldn_ _'_ _t shake the curiosity that was bubbling inside me._

 _After wiping another plate, I gently placed it in the cupboard and finally gathered the courage to ask._ _"_ _Mom, can I ask you something?_ _"_

 _"_ _Sure, darling. What is it?_ _"_ _She gave me a gentle smile, urging me to continue._

 _"_ _Why did we move here to London and leave Mystic Falls?_ _"_

 _Slightly tense, my mother flashed me a strained smile as she tried her best to compose herself._ _"_ _Why the sudden curiosity about that?_ _"_

 _She was acting weird and judging by the way she tried to cover her stiffness, she never expected me to ask this, probably even hoped I wouldn_ _'_ _t. Something must have happened that forced my parents to move._

 _"_ _Nothing really. It just got me thinking after I saw a childhood picture._ _"_

 _"_ _Well, your father and I thought that it was for the best. Besides, this is your father_ _'_ _s hometown and we shared plenty of memories here._ _"_

 _"_ _But, didn_ _'_ _t we have a good, peaceful life back in Mystic Falls? Grandma and our family friends were there and everything was perfect. You and Dad started our family there so didn_ _'_ _t it hold plenty of memories too?_ _"_

 _My mom tensed again as she answered,_ _"_ _It_ _'_ _s really just that, sweetheart. I don_ _'_ _t know what else to tell you._ _"_

 _Okay, this was really fishy. She was definitely hiding something from me and it didn't help that my gut was telling me so._ _"_ _Mom, please just tell me. I know, you know that I_ _'_ _m getting somewhere and I can tell when you_ _'_ _re hiding something from me. Please?_ _"_

 _My mother heaved a sigh and placed the plate down and finally, she faced me._ _"_ _Honey, it_ _'_ _s complicated._ _"_

 _Her eyes held a lot of emotions and the most prominent ones were sadness and fear. Why, though? Why would she be sad? What was she afraid of?_

 _"_ _But, you can tell me. I_ _'_ _m sure I can understand._ _"_ _I slightly pressed. For some reasons, I had this burning curiosity that needed to be sated. It was making me question all of these things._

 _"_ _I can_ _'_ _t, Danny. It_ _'_ _s too complicated._ _"_ _She took a hold of my left hand and her other hand caressed my cheek._ _"_ _I promise you when the time is right, I'll tell you everything._ _"_

 _She looked at me with a pained and guilty expression, making me start to wonder about certain things. What just happened? Why the hell did we really leave my hometown?_

~~~~~X~~~~~

That very same question still lurked in my mind and not knowing the answer was giving me this unsettling feeling in my stomach. Now, this question would remain unanswered because she was gone – all of them were. This thought made me tear up again, but I quickly tried to calm down. I didn't want to cry because that was all I've done for the past few days.

At last, I arrived at my grandma's house and I immediately rang the doorbell. The door was instantly opened to reveal my grandmother, Agatha Sullivan. She wrapped me in a tight hug once she saw me. My tears threatened to spill again as I returned the hug.

"Shh… It's okay, darling." She gently patted my head, running her fingers through my hair. "I'm here. Everything will be alright now."

"They're… they're gone, Grandma… I'll never see them again." I managed to say between my sobs.

"I know, Danny, but we have to be strong and move on. I'm sure that's what they would have wanted."

My grandma led us to the living room, where we stayed, there for a while, and I clung onto her as if my life depended on it. After my yet another breakdown, we grabbed my stuff and placed it in my room. She helped me get settled and fixed all of my things.

"It's okay, Grandma. I can take it from here." I gave her a small smile.

She glanced at me, raising a brow. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, it's quite late and you need to rest."

"All right. But, call me if you need anything and don't stay up too late. You can unpack some of them next time."

"I will. Goodnight, Grandma." I kissed her cheek.

"Goodnight, sweetheart." She then left, leaving me with a few more boxes to unpack.

Opening another box, I instantly froze when I saw what lay inside. My shaking hands slowly took a hold of a picture of my family as I slumped onto the bed and tears started to run down my cheeks. This memory took control of my mind again while I slowly touched the image, hoping to have some sort of comfort. However, it wasn't working. I couldn't do this because it hurt so much. I just wanted all of this to stop. I wanted my family back.


	3. Chapter 2

**Danielle**

I woke up feeling the sunlight stream down my face. Going to the bathroom, I was horrified at what I saw. My reflection showed my puffy red eyes and the dark bags underneath them. My grandma would find out that I cried again if I didn't do something about it. That was something I wouldn't want happening.

I stood still in the shower as the warm water hit my skin. Somehow it just relieved some of my fatigue caused by lack of sleep. Last night was no better than the other nights. I haven't had one decent night of good sleep since the accident. Even in my dreams, I was haunted by the memories of my family and the fate they had been given.

This was no good. My mind was starting to relive the memories that were too painful to even think about. Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I proceeded to try to remove the puffiness of my eyes as I finished up.

After my shower, I wore my outfit for the day and put on some makeup on. Hopefully, it would be enough to hide the fact that I cried myself to sleep again. I then went to get breakfast and as I neared the kitchen, I cautiously peeked to check if my grandma was there.

Luckily enough, she wasn't and was probably still asleep. Opening one of the cupboards, I got a bowl and prepared my cereal. Some unwanted thoughts were still bugging my mind and the silence that surrounded the kitchen didn't help me in pushing them away either. This was no use. No matter how much I tried to forget about the heartache, it just kept on haunting me.

The sound of footsteps echoed in my ears and my grandmother came into the kitchen with a gentle smile on her face.

"Morning, Grandma." I smiled at her.

"Morning, sweetheart." She kissed me on top of my head and proceeded to make herself some tea.

"Darling, why don't we go out today? Today is the Founder's day and I need to be there since I'm also part of the council." Glancing at me, Grandma smiled and poured a cup with some tea. "I think it would be good for both of us and I'm sure everyone would be delighted to see you again."

I thought about it for a moment before saying, "All right, I'll just finish this and get my bag."

This was a perfect chance for me to escape my misery. I just hoped that it was enough to make me forget about this nightmare even if it was just for a while.

~~~~~X~~~~~

Happy chatters and laughter filled my ears as we finally arrived at the town square. My face probably filled with awe and wonder as I looked at my surroundings. After all these years, all of it still looked the same except for the few small details that changed. When I was busy staring at anything that caught my eye, a woman, who had a wide smile on her faces, came to us. I couldn't help but think that she looked awfully familiar.

"Agatha, you're here. I thought you wouldn't come because of the accident." The woman hugged Grandma while I still tried to remember who she was.

"Well, I needed some fresh air. It already happened and I can't change anything." My grandma then gently tugged me forward, probably to try and get out of this uncomfortable conversation. "By the way, you remember Danielle right?"

Her eyes widened after hearing what my grandma said. Without me even noticing it, the woman wrapped me into a tight embrace.

"Danny, you've grown into such a fine young lady. I couldn't even recognize you!" After she said that, I finally realized that this woman was Mrs. Lockwood. No wonder she looked awfully familiar.

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Lockwood." I offered her a smile.

"Are you coping well, dear, after what happened?"

"Not really, but I have no choice but to be strong for my sake and theirs."

"We'll be here for you when you need us, okay?" Mrs. Lockwood looked at me with pity and sadness in her eyes.

It made me uncomfortable but I managed to give a nod in return. I never liked it when people gave me those eyes filled with pity. Grandma noticed my discomfort and she decided to cut in.

"Why don't you go look around and find the others? I'm sure they would be happy to see you after such a long time. You can just meet me later in the place where they will hold the mayor's speech."

"Alright, it's nice to see you again, Mrs. Lockwood." I smiled at her again before kissing my grandma's cheek. "Bye Grandma."

After leaving them, all I could say was this place still looked the same. I roamed around the town square trying to familiarize all of the things that I missed over the past years. The weather was great today and it was very suitable for the event.

Everyone around was smiling and laughing and there were also pretty and colorful floats around. I was snapped out of my thoughts when someone called my name. I then turned to the familiar voice.

" _Danielle Sullivan? Is that you?_ " A blonde girl shrieked while running to me dressed in an 1860's dress. I instantly knew who she was, there was only one person I knew back when I still lived here who had such a high-pitched voice. This put a genuine smile on my face after a long time.

"Caroline!" I grinned as she gave me a tight bear hug. "Care... can't… breathe..."

"Sorry! How have you been? When did you get here? Why didn't you tell me?" Caroline asked multiple questions at the same time. I was about to answer when multiple voices called me.

" _Danny!_ "

When I turned around, I was pulled into a group hug. Apparently, Caroline's outburst got the attention of everyone. When they pulled away, all of my childhood friends had bright smiles on their faces namely Elena, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler, and Jeremy.

"Where have you been? When did you get back? How long have you been here? How are you? Why didn't you tell us you were back?" They shot simultaneously.

"Whoa… whoa… Wait, one question at a time please." I grinned, making them laugh.

"Wow, you got an accent now." Matt decided to tease me.

"Yeah! Different from what you sounded like when we were kids. You sounded like a shrieking banshee," Tyler added causing the others to erupt into laughter.

"Hahaha, very funny, Lockwood!" I playfully glared at the two rascals. "To answer you, I just got here yesterday afternoon and I was busy unpacking my stuff so I wasn't able to tell you."

Elena had a sad smile on her face as she gently grabbed my arm. "Are you okay? We heard about what happened."

"No, not really. But, I have to move on. I'm sure they wouldn't want me to be drowned in sorrow for the rest of my life." I smiled sadly at them.

Caroline placed both of her hands on my shoulders. "We're here for you and to make up the time that we lost, we are going to have so much fun today!" Her enthusiasm was really contagious that it made a grin appear on my face.

My eyes then trailed off to two handsome young men who I didn't notice until now. Both of them were eyeing me with curiosity filled in their eyes. One had beautiful forest green eyes and light brown hair while the other one had piercing blue eyes and dark brown hair.

"Well, who do we have here? I believe we haven't met because if we did, I wouldn't have forgotten such a beautiful lady. I'm Damon Salvatore." The dark haired flirted with a smirk on his handsome face while extending his hand to me.

Flirt. He was probably one those of guys who liked to flirt with every single woman they meet.

"Danielle Sullivan." I reached for a handshake but instead he kissed the back of my hand. My poker face was quickly on, unaffected by his advances. Yup, definitely a flirt.

Then suddenly, I felt something cold and dark like death. What the hell was that? I quickly pushed the thought aside because I just might be hallucinating. My friends and the other man rolled their eyes before the latter pushed Damon away.

"I apologize for my brother's actions. Stefan Salvatore, it's a pleasure to meet you." The man politely smiled at me.

"Danielle. The pleasure is all mine." I returned the gesture.

"Time to get on the floats," someone shouted.

"Time to go! Please come watch the floats parade, you'll love it!" Caroline took both of my hands.

"Yeah, we can watch together." Bonnie grinned.

"All right."

"Great! We'll see you later." Caroline then ran to the floats, dragging Matt with her. Poor guy. I wondered how he could keep up with Caroline's hyper-activeness.

"Bye, guys!" I said with the same eagerness. My friends then ran off to their respective places except for Bonnie.

She and I went to a spot with fewer crowds and watched the parade. The whole time Bonnie just kept on laughing at me because I was acting like a little girl given her favorite toy. Everything just brought back memories of my childhood here in Mystic Falls.

Maybe moving here was a good thing after all because, for the first time since that car crash, I felt like I could be me again. We saw our friends and waved at them until Damon came. Then, there was a sudden tension.

"What do you want?" Bonnie narrowed his eyes at him.

"Just watching the parade," Damon answered.

"Let's go, Danny." Bonnie took my hand and started to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you."

 _This is becoming awkward_ , I thought. "Bonnie I'll wait for you there."

Bonnie just nodded in return. I watched the parade in a less crowded space while waiting for her. After a while, she came to me looking like she was in a deep thought.

"Are you okay? Did Damon say anything to upset you?" I looked at Bonnie worriedly.

"No, he didn't. I'm okay, don't worry about it." She assured me with a slight smile.

I wasn't convinced. Something was clearly bugging her but I would just have to leave it since she clearly didn't want me to know. For the rest of the day, I stayed with Bonnie and the others at the grill. We talked about what happened to our lives when we were apart.

Stefan was the sweet and gentleman type of guy, unlike his brother who I basically ignored most of the time. Damon kept on making advances on me, which made me really uncomfortable. Good thing Stefan was there to keep him in check. Actually, I had fun today and it was nice to recollect some childhood memories.

Another laugh escaped my lips after hearing how Elena and Stefan met. "Okay, okay, let me get this straight. You came out of the men's room and bumped into Stefan? He asked you if it was the men's room and you stuttered while attempting to answer and explain yourself?"

"It was an accident, okay?" Elena blushed in embarrassment and Stefan looked at me with amused eyes as I laughed again. "Really, Danny? It's embarrassing. You're having way too much fun."

"What? It's really funny." I smirked at her. "Besides, I find it really cute how you two are all like love-struck teenagers when it came to each other. It's always like rainbows and butterflies."

Elena blushed fifty shades of red while Stefan looked at me quite stunned with a slight tinge of pink dusting his cheeks. My other friends just laughed it off, making me join along.

"She got us there," Stefan mumbled to his girlfriend, who only nodded and shook her head in exasperation.

"You bet I did, Salvatore." I smirked and snickered, starting another fit of laughter from my childhood friends.

"Oh God, I forgot how much of a tease and savage you are." Caroline grinned at me.

"I'm just that awesome." I winked at her, making the others roll their eyes.

Tyler playfully scoffed and said, "Yeah, right."

"The green-eyed monster as always. I thought it was long gone but guess not." I shrugged my shoulders as a smirked made its way on my face when I saw his jaw slightly drop.

"Burned!" Matt clutched his stomach, leaning onto the chair.

"Shut up, Donavan." Tyler then turned to me. "For your information, I'm not jealous. I'm like the coolest person in here."

I snorted and leaned on my chair. "I see someone's ego just got stepped on. Excuses, excuses. Probably best to just let it feed his ego. Poor guy needs it." Tyler's eyes widened while the others erupted into laughter.

Jeremy then said, "And, you just got burned!"

"Again!" Caroline continued, still laughing. "God, you're more hilarious!"

"I call that dead-on savage." Bonnie couldn't stop laughing as well.

Tyler groaned and scoffed. "Damn, you're worse than before."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lockwood." I smiled innocently, making him groan again as the others laughed.

"I like you," a voice said and the laughter quickly died down, replacing them with the sounds of groans. I rolled my eyes as my face was once again void of any tinge of emotion. This was the nth time today, lost count a long time ago because of how many times it happened.

"Too bad, I wish I could say the same." My voice practically dripped with sarcasm as I faced the annoying importunate Salvatore.

"You know, I'm an amazing person once you get to know me. So, why don't we get to know each other?" Damon smirked at me making me slightly narrow my eyes.

"Sorry, got no time for narcissistic losers whose sole purpose in life is to flirt with anything female. Wait, on the second thought, definitely not sorry at all."

Sniggers quickly came from my friends after hearing what I said. Damon's eyes slightly widened but he quickly covered it up with a smirk.

"Ouch, you wound me."

"That's the point. Or, can't your dimwitted brain get that?" I mockingly tilted my head to the side, causing another fit of laughter from my friends.

"Damn, I don't wanna get into a fight with you," Tyler grumbled.

Caroline laughed harder and said, "It's official. I love savage Danny!"

I smirked at my friends and God, how I missed them. They were still the same old bunch of people that I loved so much. From the corner of my eyes, Damon was about to speak up again with some snide remark.

Before he could utter another word, I looked at my watch and said, "Oh, look at the time. Gotta go!"

"Wait, why?" Bonnie asked me as I gathered my bag.

"We still have a lot to talk about, though." Caroline frowned at me. "We still haven't even finished most of the stories!"

"Yeah, sorry. It's almost time for the mayor's speech. I promised Grandma I'd meet her there."

"Okay, fine. But, promise that we'll hang out again tomorrow." Caroline huffed and gave me a serious look.

"We'll see."

"No, promise." She said again, making me look at her amused.

"Just promise, Danny." Matt sighed as I turned to him.

"You won't get anywhere until you promise, Danny." Bonnie piped in as Caroline gave her a look. "Yeah, this is Caroline we're talking about."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

This time it was Elena who answered it. "You know what we mean, Care."

"What?" Caroline scrunched her face as I laughed, knowing exactly what they meant.

"I promise I'll see you again tomorrow to hang out with you. Happy?"

"Good!" Caroline stood up and hugged me before she pulled away and allowed the others to do the same.

"See you, weirdoes!" I laughed while walking towards the exit when I heard them protest, saying 'Hey!' and 'Meanie!'

It was kind of hard looking for Grandma since there were more people now than a while ago. After a few more minutes of searching, I finally found her talking with an unknown man. They looked like they were in a heated conversation.

My grandmother had an anxious expression on her face as she talked to the man, who looked quite familiar. I couldn't see his face properly because they were quite hidden in the dark. With my curiosity getting the best of me, I decided to eavesdrop and go nearer.

"You can't risk it in a public place. Some innocent people could get hurt along the way. You'll expose the truth about the supernatural world to the people!" Grandma yelled at the man in a hushed voice.

Couldn't risk what? Hurt the innocent along with the way? And, expose the truth about the supernatural world? What on earth was going on?

"Agatha, we have no choice! The hunt happens tonight and that's final. You can't stop it." The man raised his voice. This had to end. I came out from my hiding place and pretended that I never heard any of their conversation.

"Grandma?" She immediately whipped her head to me with a nervous expression still masking her face. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, don't worry. Everything's fine, sweetheart." She swiftly covered up her once agitated state and gestured me to come closer. "This is John Gilbert, Elena and Jeremy's uncle. You remember him, don't you?"

I remembered him. He used to give me candies and sometimes give me dolls when I was playing with Elena during my childhood days.

"Danny, long time no see." Uncle John hugged me.

I smiled and returned the hug. "You too, Uncle John."

"As much as I want to stay and catch up with you, I need to go now since I have matters to attend to. It's really nice to see you again, Danny."

"It's nice to see you too, Uncle John. Bye!"

"Bye!" He then left in a hurry, making my curiosity grow again.

"We need to go home, darling." Grandma took my hand and started dragging me in a hurry.

"Why? I thought that we were going to watch the fireworks?" I tilted my head in confusion. Grandma was hiding something and it seemed she didn't want me involved in it.

"Change of plans, honey. We have to go."

We quickly arrived at the parking lot. Then suddenly, a sound rang in my ears along with a sharp pain in my head. I fell onto my knees while clutching my head. The pain was unbearable that I let out an earsplitting scream.

" _Danielle!_ " I felt my grandma knelt in front of me. Faint footsteps and murmurs could be heard before I fell into the darkness.

* * *

 **Agatha**

" _Danielle!_ " I knelt down in front my granddaughter.

John, he didn't listen and started the Gilbert device. I needed to get Danielle out of here before they could find her but I was too late. The deputies must have heard her scream.

"We are taking her," one said.

"No, you aren't." I stood in front of my granddaughter to protect her and faced the deputies.

"Get away from the monster, Agatha! We do not want to have to hurt you." Another one glared at me.

"No, you're not taking my granddaughter to her death! Just walk away and no one will get hurt."

"You made your choice!" He moved forward to take Danielle but I stood still.

"No, you did." I glared at him and muttered a spell, making them fall into a deep sleep. Casting another spell, I removed their memories and took Danielle home, hiding her from the cruel truth even if it was for a few more moments.

~~~~~X~~~~~

It was already early in the morning and I dreaded for this time to come. Danielle would ask me for the details and I wouldn't be able to keep the secret that her parents and I tried so hard to keep. If I thought about it now, maybe it was best to tell her now. With all that was happening here it Mystic Falls, it was only the start. There were more incidents that were bound to come, putting Danielle at risk.

"Grandma?" Danielle's voice rang in my ears.

"In the living room, darling."

She then entered with a serious and frightened face. "I'll be honest with you. I heard your conversation with Uncle John."

My eyes widened after hearing what she said. I didn't know she was there and now everything was out. The thing, that we tried our hardest to keep her away from, just seemed to be haunting her.

"I need you to be totally honest with me in return. What did you mean when you said that Uncle John couldn't risk exposing the truth about the supernatural world during the hunt? Was I one of the 'creatures' that they wanted to hunt down? And, what was the screeching sound that I heard? What is going on? What am I?"

There was hidden the fear in her eyes as I looked at her straight in the eye. Danielle was determined to get answers and I knew there was no stopping her in finding out the truth.

"Looks like the cat's out of the bag." I quickly sat straight and heaved a sigh. "Your parents and I have kept things from you that we never wanted you to find out."

"Please! Please, you have to tell me!" She desperately pleaded. I took a deep breath and prepared for the next things that were about to unfold.

"Yes, Danielle. You are not human."

* * *

Hi, guys! I added more details in this chapter because I wanted to show more of Danny's character which I didn't really do before. I hope you liked this chapter! Until next time~! :)

\- Sylkes


	4. Chapter 3

**Danielle**

"Yes, Danielle. You are not human."

"What?" I managed to choke up in my petrified state after hearing what she said. If I wasn't a human being, what on earth was I then?

"You're a witch, Danielle." My grandma's tone was very serious, shocking me to the point that it had left me speechless.

"You were nothing like the creatures that the deputies were hunting. The ones they were looking for were vampires and the Gilbert device affected them. It's a weapon against vampires wherein any vampire within five blocks radius will be incapacitated."

"But, I don't understand. How was I affected if it's only for vampires?"

She heaved another sigh and said, "Well, that is just what the deputies thought. They didn't know it also affects other supernatural beings."

"No, no. This can't be possible. Mom and Dad were human. I'm sure of it. They never did anything out of the ordinary. This is not possible. I'm human, not a witch." My knees trembled as I slumped down onto the couch. I looked at my grandmother again and said, "H-How do you know all of these?"

My grandmother's gaze softened once again as she gently took my hand and slightly squeezed it. "The thing is I'm not entirely human either. I'm also a witch just like you, sweetheart. Your parents and I kept everything from you because we never wanted any of this for you. Keeping you from the supernatural world was for your own good and protection."

"Does that mean that Dad, Mom, Kyla and Uncle Keith were witches too?"

"Yes, darling, although Kyla was also unaware of the supernatural world."

This was all happening so fast. My mind was having a hard time trying to sink everything in. This was not possible. Vampires were supposed to be just a bunch of stories to scare little children. This supernatural stuff was just all supposed to be fiction. But now, I didn't even know anymore. They were all real. I was a witch and it wasn't just me. My whole family was, for God's sake!

No, soon, I would wake up from this nightmare and everything would be back to normal. I suddenly remembered something that boggled my mind yesterday, although I tried to push it aside. Was it connected to this whole crazy supernatural stuff?

I took a deep breath and said, "Yesterday, I touched Damon Salvatore and suddenly got this feeling of coldness and death. Why?"

My grandmother's face turned serious again, which gave me a bad feeling in my stomach. "Damon Salvatore is a vampire, along with his brother, Stefan. Witches get that feeling when they touch vampires. I want you to be cautious around them, Danielle. They can't know our secret, more importantly, your secret."

"Why?" I looked at my grandma with knitted brows.

My grandmother took a deep breath and said, "All throughout the olden times, Sullivan witches were known to be very powerful and rare, making other witches to respect them. They were capable of easily doing different feats that other witches couldn't or have a hard time doing. Our kind already has magic within us when we're born.

"We channel magic through our emotions and state of mind unlike other witches, who need to channel the magic of their ancestors or the spirits. The art of medicine and healing was their forte. During the earliest times, they would perform miracles, as others would like to say, that helped save thousands of lives."

I couldn't help but be intrigued by all of this for some weird reasons. Something in me was pushing for me to know everything about my heritage and ancestry. "We're a rare kind of witch. Is that why you want me to keep my identity a secret?"

"Yes, sweetheart." She gave me a sad smile. " With that kind of power, it came with a price. People sought after Sullivan witches in hopes of gaining more power and becoming unstoppable. With one of us by their side, they would use us to their advantage." There was a moment of silence as I tried to take in the new information. Then after a while, my grandma spoke again.

"Your Uncle Keith was one of the most powerful Sullivan witches. He was capable of doing almost anything and even surpassed me." She had a sad smile on her face as she mentioned my uncle. I couldn't really blame her. Even after all these years, it was still definitely hard to reminisce some memories of your dead son as a mother. I couldn't even imagine her pain, but there was something in her eyes that I couldn't point out what. Was it guilt? If it were, why would she be guilty? What on earth happened to Uncle Keith?

Her facial expression then became grim, making me curious and quite frightened. "But between all of us, I can feel that you contain much more power than we do. You contain a lot of potentials. You're very special, Danielle. Unfortunately, people will come after you for that great magic you hold. That's why I need you to be cautious and be wary of the people around you."

I thickly swallowed a lump as I nodded my head. "All my life, I thought that I was only a normal teenager and everything you said was hard to sink in. I still can't believe I'm a witch." I let out a ragged breath while the feeling of horror and fright still loomed inside me, thinking about what would happen from now on. Yesterday might only be the start of it. What on earth had I gotten myself into?

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." She had another sad smile on her face. "Now you know everything, I'd have to teach you how to control and use your magic for your protection. You would also have to study the family grimoires or spell books. The history of the supernatural world is also something you must learn."

"All right." I heaved a sigh and continued, "But can we start today I'm scared that something like last night might happen again."

"Darling, are you sure? I don't want to push you." She gave me a worried look. "Let us take one step at a time. I'm sure with everything that you learned today; you're still shocked. We can start some other time. I'll be with you all throughout."

"I know, but I need this. So, please teach me?"

"All right then. Go change your clothes and then meet me here."

"Okay." On my way to my room, I stopped midway when I realized something. "Grandma?"

"Yes, dear?"

"You said that not just vampires were affected by the Gilbert Device. How come I was affected and you weren't?"

"I found out earlier. I cast a protection spell so I wasn't affected."

"Oh! Right, I understand now. Grandma, thank you for telling me everything." I grinned before going to my bedroom again.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." Grandma softly replied.

I quickly changed into a comfy shirt and yoga pants before going straight to the living room. In the living room, my grandma was still in the same place where I left her.

"Are you ready?" She asked, which earned a nod from me. She stood up and went to the bookshelf. What is she doing? I thought.

She went to reach for a blue book in the lower left of the shelf and pulled it down. I was surprised that the bookshelf suddenly moved to reveal a staircase leading down. My grandma went down the stairs with me following closely behind her. I was amazed at the sight in front of me. I never knew there was a secret passage or a training room in the house.

"Let's start. Watch closely, okay?" She grabbed a candle and lit it and put it out just by looking at it. "Try to copy what I did. Just focus on the candle and what you want to happen to it."

I did what she told me and with a matter of seconds, the candle lit up and put it out without breaking a sweat. My face quickly broke into a grin as I laughed. "Wow…"

"Want some cooler spells?" Grandma laughed after seeing me.

"Yes, please." I grinned at her and after that, grandma taught me simple spells such as locator spell, protection spell and plenty more. For some weird reasons, it was fascinating to me and I was somewhat feeling complete but not fully. It still felt like something was missing, but I didn't really get it either. I just pushed the feeling aside because it was probably nothing, or so I thought.

* * *

 **Agatha**

Was this really for the best? I had been asking myself that question since I told Danielle the truth. It was bugging me that I didn't know if I made the right decision. Did I just put her in more danger or would she be safer like this? I watched my granddaughter as a smile crossed her face, trying to do another spell. The feeling of guilt suddenly coursed through my whole being as I looked at that wide and innocent grin on her face.

 _I can't tell you everything now, Danielle. I hope you can forgive me for lying and not telling you everything. The other half of the truth and your heritage must be strictly kept a secret as much as possible. I have no choice but to let fate take over and decide on how you'll find out that other piece of the puzzle. It's better you know less because with that strong magic you possess and your rarity, people will come after you. For now, this is all I can do to keep you safe. Also, the necklace given to you by him will protect you. After all, he wanted to keep you hidden and protected from that man._

* * *

Hi, guys! Here's another chapter for you! Thank you so much reviews, follows and favorites. I really appreciate it and they never fail to put a smile on my face. :) So, I added more about what Danny thought of all of the supernatural stuff. I'll post another chapter soon, most likely tomorrow. Please tell me what you think about this chapter. Until next time~! :)  
\- Sylkes

PS: I'll just write my response to your reviews after every author's note because I can't reply to some of them through PM. :)

* * *

* **KAYKAY22PRINCESS** : Thank you so much and I'm glad you liked it! :)

* **Mika(Guest)** : Thank you so much for reading! Who knows, it's a secret~. ;)

* **Adela(Guest)** : Thank you so much for reading! I really had fun in writing that and I focused more on showing Danny's character this time. :)

* **SapphirexMoonlight** : Thank you so much! I'm so happy to know that you liked it before and this rewritten version. I love Danny's sassiness too and there's more to come in the upcoming chapters. ;)

* **belladu57** : Thank you so much for reading! :)


	5. Chapter 4

**Danielle**

I just finished putting my clothes on when my phone suddenly rang. I looked at the caller and it was Elena. "Hello?"

"Hey, Danny. I tried calling you yesterday, but Mrs. Sullivan said you weren't feeling well. Are you okay now?"

 _Grandma must have used that as a cover story_ , I thought before answering her, "Yeah! I'm fine now. I just had a bit of a migraine, but it's all right now."

"Oh, okay. That's good to know. I called to tell you that Caroline is in the hospital."

" _What? What happened?_ "

"She was in a car accident with Matt and Tyler but she's fine now. She is quickly recovering. People said that Tyler was driving when he suddenly got a migraine and lost control of the wheel during Founder's day."

"Are Matt and Tyler okay? Did they get injured?"

"Yeah, they're fine. Don't worry. I need to go. See you later, okay?"

"All right, see you." I hung up and put on my crescent moon necklace before going down the stairs.

My mom gave me this necklace, saying it was from someone dear to her. The necklace was placed in a beautifully decorated box together with a card saying, _"To Danielle, I hope you like it. From, K.O.S."_ Until now, I still didn't know who that person was. Mom just told me to always wear it and never take it off. I never asked why since I thought it was really important.

"Grandma?"

"Yes, darling?" she answered from the kitchen.

"I'm going out to visit Caroline in the hospital."

"Goodness! What happened to her?" She looked at me with shock and worry all over her face.

"She got into an accident but she's fine now."

"All right, send my concern to her for me. Don't forget that we have to go to the Lockwood's for Richard's funeral."

"I won't. I'm going!" After kissing her cheek, I then made my way to the car and drove to the local hospital.

After a few minutes, I arrived at the hospital and immediately went to the main desk to ask for Caroline's room number. I rushed to the room just in time to see Matt and Caroline kissing while Bonnie stood on the sidelines.

"My eyes! It burns!" I teasingly covered my eyes. When I removed them, Matt and Bonnie were laughing while Caroline just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever Danny! You're not a kid anymore!" Caroline retorted in the same teasing tone as she smiled.

"It's good to see that you're okay. You had me worried!" I moved closer to her and gently gave her a hug. "I'm sorry I just came now."

"It's okay. At least, you're here now. I'm sorry for making you worry." She returned the hug. "Why are you crying?" Caroline looked at Bonnie when we pulled away. Then, Matt and I went to comfort Bonnie.

"I'm just happy you're okay," Bonnie replied while tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Aw, I love you guys!" Caroline gushed and this made me giggle.

"We love you too!" I placed an arm on her shoulder.

After that, we continued where we left off during Founder's Day. We talked more about what happened to our lives and they even told me that this year was very different from past years.

"So, you're telling me it's just different?" I raised a brow at my friends. "Different, how?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it. It's just really different."

"You can say it's been a really crappy year," Matt said as he sat on a nearby chair.

What on earth happened here? This just got me more confused and it didn't give me any answer at all. I then turned to Bonnie, silently asking her to explain it to me.

Bonnie slightly tensed, making me raise a brow at her. She then heaved a sigh before finally saying, "Well, I guess what they're trying to say is it's a catastrophe and full of misfortunes."

Okay, now I was really curious. "Misfortunes?"

"Yes, misfortunes." Bonnie shrugged, not giving any more explanation.

"We lost quite a lot of people and some of them are the people close to us." Matt stared into space as the light in his eyes dimmed. On the other hand, Bonnie looked down as a sad expression crossed her face. Right, I just remembered. Grandma had been telling me a few things that I missed these past years. She told me that Miss Sheila passed away and Matt lost his older sister, Vicky, a few months ago.

With a sympathetic smile on my face, I broke the silence and muttered, "I'm sorry."

They only gave me a small smile in return as their way of saying that it was okay but I knew better. For someone who lost her family recently, I could definitely understand that things were not okay and they would never go back to the way they were. That feeling of loss would still be there.

"You know, some pretty weird things have been happening in Mystic Falls for the past few months," Caroline then spoke as I fixed my gaze on her this time. "There have been many cases of animal attacks and some people just go missing without any trace at all. It all just started months ago and like… it just came out of nowhere."

What on earth happened here for the past few months? Tilting my head to the side, I looked at them with knitted brows. "What was causing all of it?"

Caroline shrugged as Matt answered, "No one knows. They just said they were animal attacks. Some of them just happen out of nowhere and no can really explain them."

What the hell? Could no one actually explain these weird occurrences? An idea just suddenly came to me as I thought it through. _What if this had something to do with the supernatural?_

"But, that never happened before until these past few months, right?" I asked as Matt and Caroline nodded their heads. "People don't just suddenly go missing for no reason and then suddenly, frequent animal attacks happen in Mystic Falls. That is very unusual. Something tells me that these are interconnected somehow."

After saying all of that, I noticed Bonnie slightly tense from the corner of my eyes. Why was she suddenly so nervous? She was trying to hide it, but I could still see right through it. My attention was diverted when Matt spoke up.

"Well, no one really knows. There aren't many pieces of evidence from what I heard." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Oh…" I muttered as silence soon followed.

Bonnie took a step towards Caroline and said, "Hey guys, I think I should go."

A frown quickly crossed the perky blonde's face as she pouted. "But, why? We're still catching up."

"I know but I'll promise to make it up to you guys." Bonnie gave her a small smile and hugged her. "Need to go to the Lockwood's."

" _Oh, crap!_ " My eyes widened as I quickly looked at the time, making me jump up from my seat. "I'm supposed to pick Grandma up in five minutes!"

Giving each of them a quick hug, I quickly made my way to the door while saying, "Bye, guys!"

Before I got too far, I heard them laughing at me while saying things like 'same old Danny.' A small pout made its way on my face, thinking about it, but it felt good spending time with them. However, our conversation still bugged me as it still remained at the back of my mind. I was burning with curiosity and wariness right now. Something in this whole scenario just didn't add up.

~~~~~X~~~~~

Arriving at the Lockwood mansion, Grandma and I made our way to the front door. Tyler stood at the front door and greeted the people coming for Mr. Lockwood's funeral.

"Hi, Mrs. Sullivan. Hey, Danny. Thank you both for coming."

"I'm sorry about what happened to your father, Tyler. I just wish that things could've gone differently." Grandma then gave Tyler a comforting hug.

"Come on in," he said after pulling away from the hug.

"Grandma, you can go first. I'll catch up to you later." Grandma nodded and went inside the house probably to look for Mrs. Lockwood. "You know, you don't have to act tough in front me." I then gave him a comforting embrace. He was a bit shocked, but he returned the hug after a while.

"I know you're fed up with those people who say sorry but don't actually care. But trust me, it will get better," I whispered before pulling away.

"Thank you, Danny." A small smile crossed his face. "For being my friend."

"Always. Besides, if I'm not here, who would take care and clean up after your mess?" I smirked, earning a chuckle from him. "See you later, Lockwood."

"Yeah, see you." He grinned.

I then went to pay my respects to Mrs. Lockwood. We chatted for a while before she needed to go and greet a good friend of hers.

When I was walking around, a feminine voice called me. "Danny!"

As soon as I turned around, I was faced with a familiar brunette. A grin quickly made its way on my face as I greeted, "Jenna, it's nice to see you!"

"It's nice to see you too! How are you? When did you get back?" Jenna hugged me before pulling away.

"I just got back the day before Founder's Day and I'm doing fine. How about you? Did you meet any guy who was able to steal your heart?" I teased and a smirk made its way on my face when a slight tint of pink dusted her cheeks.

"So, there is! Who's the lucky guy?" My smirk just got bigger and Jenna blushed a darker shade of pink.

"His name is Alaric," she shyly answered back.

I smirked and expectantly waited for her to continue, but she made no sign of continuing, making me frown. "Oh, come on! Really?"

"What?"

"You're gonna have to give me more than just a first name." I gave her a pointed look, making her smile in amusement. "Come on, Jenna! Please tell me!"

"Nope. Why do you even want to know about my love life?" She had a dreamy smile on her face when she mentioned her love life. This just made me want to pry more.

"Because, you have that dreamy smile on your face, which means that this guy is a good catch." I smirked once more when another blush dusted her cheeks.

"Uh…" Jenna looked past me and quickly said, "Oh, look at that! I'm just gonna greet an old friend."

"Hey!" I pouted as Jenna move pass me. "You're not off the hook yet!"

Jenna smiled innocently before saying, "See you soon, Danny!"

Apparently, Jenna really left me to avoid talking about her love life, but this wasn't over yet. I'd get my details soon, but this is it for now. With nothing else to do, I decided to grab something to drink, but was stopped midway by none other than Damon Salvatore.

"Oh, it's you," I said in a disinterested tone.

"Ouch. I'm hurt, Danny. It's as if you don't wanna see me." He looked like an offended little puppy.

"Well, look at that, the moron surprisingly got it this time." I rolled my eyes and tried to move past him but he blocked my way.

Ignoring my intense glare, he placed a hand on his heart in mock hurt. "Do you really dislike me that much?"

"Wow, nice to know your capacity to sense my dislike towards you finally improved." I tried to move past him again but to no avail, he blocked me again. My glare just intensified as I clenched my jaw in annoyance. "Move."

"You're a feisty one." Damon only narrowed his eyes in amusement as a smirk made its way on his face.

"Yes, and this feisty one will kick your arse if you don't get your annoying arse out of her way." A wry smile crossed my face as I sassed him once again.

"Playing hard to get, I see." His annoying smirk just widened and how I wanted to wipe it off of his face. "Hmm, I have an idea. Why don't we go grab some drinks later?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Seriously? This was the last straw. "Not interested. You might wanna drill that into your thick skull."

"Come on, Danny. We can skip that little game of yours and, you know, get to know each other." He moved closer until we were a few inches apart and he still had that annoying smirk on his face. I pretended to contemplate for a moment and a small smile made its way to my face. I leaned my head closer to him until there was just a little space between us.

"In your dreams, Salvatore," I sneered before walking away, a smirk on my face.

My urge to laugh was very tempting because I just left Damon Salvatore speechless with his jaw hanging. Not wanting to have another encounter with Damon, I decided to go for a walk beside the lake at the back of the Lockwood mansion.

While strolling beside the lake, I saw Stefan and Elena in a heated conversation. Everything happened so fast that I could only watch Stefan double over and fall to his knees with a candleholder poking from his torso. My eyes widened and without thinking, I ran to Stefan.

" _Stefan, are you all right? What the bloody hell is happening?_ " I hurriedly yelled and he only looked at me with wide eyes while clutching his wound.

" _Danny, get out of here!_ " he groaned, but I refused to move away since I was worried about him.

" _Are you out of your bloody mind?_ " I screamed at Elena while she just scanned her eyes at me like I was some artifact. As I replayed the scene in my head, everything happened so fast like it was impossible to track Elena's actions a while ago. Also, Stefan looked really terrified and worried when he saw me. Then, it finally hit me. This person wasn't Elena.

"You're not Elena." I looked at her with wide eyes before muttering, "Katherine Pierce."

"Well, well, well," Katherine said as a smirk made its way to her face. "Danielle Sullivan, just the witch I was just looking for. Judging from your reaction, you've heard about me and have been warned to stay away from me. But don't worry, you and I will get to know each other more because I have bigger plans for both of us."

She shot me an angelic smile before speeding away and I couldn't help but feel the chills ran down my spine. Stefan was mirroring the terrified expression that I had. Once I broke out of my petrified state, I helped Stefan sit on a nearby bench.

"I'm going to call Elena." I hurriedly dialed Elena's number and after a few rings, she answered.

"Hey, Danny. What's up?"

"Uh… There's a bit of a problem. You should come here at the lake behind the mansion."

Elena then worriedly asked, "Danny, what's wrong?"

"Uh…" Okay, now this was complicated. How the hell do I even explain it? I thought. You know what, screw it. I said really fast, "Katherine happened and now, Stefan has a freaking candleholder poking from his torso."

"What?"

"Katherine happened and now, Stefan has a freaking candleholder poking from his torso," I slowly answered this time.

"Stay with Stefan. I'm on my way." She quickly hung up before I could even answer her.

"No shit. What do you think I've been doing, woman?" I glared at the phone before snapping out of it when Stefan chuckled in pain.

"You okay?" I asked before I slightly shook my head and berated myself for it. "Okay. Never mind, that was really stupid. Of course, you're not okay."

He chuckled once more before saying, "I'm fine, Danny."

Smiling, I sighed in relief and he was about to say something again, but was cut off when Elena arrived. She sighed in relief when she saw Stefan was okay. Elena then sat beside him on the bench and immediately cleaned the blood off on Stefan's lower right torso.

"Are you going to be okay?" Elena sighed, shooting Stefan the question.

"Yeah, it will heal," he replied coolly.

"It's not what I meant." She looked up at him, making Stefan turn to her.

He heaved a sigh before answering, "I was trying to figure her out. I was playing along. I let her get to me."

"I tried to track her but she's gone." Damon's voice rang in my ears as he slowly came towards us. Then, he suddenly turned his face away in disgust, which made me roll my eyes. "Ooh! Cover up Fabio."

"You have a crazy ex on the loose," Damon told Stefan before turning to Elena. "Better watch out. Looks like Katherine is trying to steal your guy."

"That's not what's happening," Stefan assured Elena but his idiot of a brother just wouldn't shut it.

"Isn't it? I mean it's only fair since I went after your girl," Damon added, making Elena look up at him.

 _What kind of twisted love triangle quarrel did I get myself into?_ I watched them as they continued to talk. As if something hit Stefan, he finally remembered that I was still there.

"Danny, what did Katherine mean when she said you're the witch she was just looking for?"

Oh, crap! I totally forgot about that and I wasn't prepared to cover it up nor answer it. Mom and Grandma made me promise not to trust so easily and never to let my secret out. _How the hell will I get myself out of this?_ I thought in panic.

"She called you a witch?" Damon said in a very serious tone, letting me know that one wrong move and he could snap. On the other hand, Elena looked like she also wanted some answers. _Well, shit. Looks like I definitely can't get off the hook now._

"I don't know what she meant about it." I looked at them straight in the eye, trying to get out of this situation.

"Are you a witch?" Stefan looked at me with knitted brows.

Biting my bottom lip, I heaved another sigh before saying, "I'm sorry, but that's all I can tell you. I really don't know."

Suddenly, Damon whizzed in front of me startling me in the process. He looked at me with a serious and annoyed expression on his face.

"Spill it, witchy. You're not leaving unless you spill the beans."

I glared at the elder Salvatore and retorted, "The hell I can't!" Ignoring the vampire, I proceeded to go back to the Lockwood mansion but a hand grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

"Damon," Stefan warned his brother but was ignored.

"Damon, let her go," Elena told him but was also ignored by this despicable idiot. Damon's grip on my arm only tightened to the point that it really hurt like hell.

"Listen, witch. You're gonna tell us whatever the hell you are or else-"

That did it. All of my patience for this moron has run out. Raising my free hand, I concentrated on Damon and popped the blood vessels in his brain. Damon let go of my arm and fell to his knees while clutching his head in pain.

Walking closer to Damon, I glared at him and hissed, "Listen here douchebag. I don't give a crap about what you want. Never order me around like I'm one of your compelled minions."

"Danny. Danny, please let him go." Stefan pleaded, making me look at him.

Feeling pity for the younger Salvatore, I stopped the aneurysms. Damon glared up at me and was about to attack me, but Stefan stopped him and pushed him away from me.

"Damon, stop! You're just making things worse!" the younger Salvatore hissed at his brother.

"Let me go, Stefan!" Damon struggled to get Stefan off of him, but the latter wouldn't let him have it.

"Damon, stop! Danny's my friend," Elena yelled at Damon and this time he finally stopped, although he was still sending me death glares.

 _I see. So, it's like that._ I looked at them with a blank expression on my face before I finally spoke. "Listen because I'm only going to say this once."

Stefan and Elena looked at me curiously while the douche continued to glare daggers at me.

"I can only tell you this. I don't know what that psychotic lunatic wants with me and I don't give a single crap about her. This discussion is closed. Excuse me, I'll be taking my leave." I then left them without leaving any more room for questions.

On my way back to the mansion, I tried to cool off, but thinking about what happened a while ago just kept on annoying me. After that mishap, I might have the tendency to set Damon on fire for being rude and such a jerk.

Okay, this day was definitely a crappy day. Everything was just really crazy and annoying. Then, I remembered what I just did. I wanted to hit my head on the wall, berating myself for being such a bloody idiot. _Great job Danielle. You just gave yourself a one-way ticket to some supernatural hell_ , I thought and once again criticized myself. A part of my identity was out because I lost it and snapped.

I felt like I broke my promise to Mom and Grandma. They told me to be careful and I let something important such as this to slip out. My temper got the best of me and it was the first time it happened. All of a sudden, I remembered what Katherine told me and I couldn't help but have a bad feeling about it again. My gut was telling me something bad might happen. What did she want with me anyway? But above all, how the hell did that lunatic even know I was a witch?

* * *

Hi, guys! As promised, here's another chapter for you! Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites. I really appreciate it because it keeps me motivated. :) Danny's sassiness just went to a whole new level. XD It was really fun writing this chapter and I'm having a lot of fun writing Danny's interactions with Damon. Please tell me what you think about this chapter. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Until next time~! :)  
\- Sylkes

* * *

* **SwingingOnAStar** : Thank you so much for reading! I'm glad you're liking this rewritten version so far. :)

* **Adela** **(Guest)** : Thank you so much! I'm happy to hear that you love it. :)


	6. Chapter 5

**Danielle**

The carnival was today and Elena asked me if I could join Bonnie and her in preparing for it. Caroline wouldn't be able to come and the others said she was even planning it for weeks now. Today was also the day that I finally got into Mystic Falls High after fixing all of the annoying paperwork. I was currently looking for Bonnie and Elena and after a while, I found them just in time Elena shoved some prizes to Bonnie.

"Copy that," Bonnie said.

"I'm human and I have to do human stuff. Otherwise, I'm going to go crazy." Elena looked at her clipboard once more.

"Hey, guys." I smiled at my friends.

Elena saw me and asked, "Hey, how did it go?"

"It was quite fast actually. By the way, I have history and two other classes with you guys."

They squealed and gave me a bone-crushing hug. I laughed as Bonnie joked, "That's really great. We can hang out more and die in history class together."

"By the way, here's the list for you to do." Elena handed me a piece of paper.

"Wow, that's really long." With slightly wide eyes, I looked at the very long list of tasks.

"Now, we have to focus on the carnival." Elena grinned while watching me scrutinize the piece of paper.

"Yeah, we have to make Caroline proud or she will kill us. I don't know how Caroline does all of this." The way Bonnie said it in a dreadful tone made me giggle.

"Well, it's because she's not human, obviously," Elena added, which made me laugh more.

"Obviously." Bonnie laughed along with us. We then went our separate ways to do our respective tasks.

I looked down on the list once more and sighed again. "This will be a long day."

~~~~~X~~~~~

It was already nighttime and the carnival had long started when I finished my last task. There were smiles and laughter in every corner of the carnival and I couldn't help but think that this would've made Caroline proud if she ever saw this. Looking for Bonnie and Elena was quite hard since the place was already packed and crowded.

I finally found them walking to a booth. "Hey, guys! Everything in the list is done."

"Great! You can go do whatever you want now." Elena smiled at me.

"The ring toss is out of Bart and Homer dolls and team Jacob T's," Bonnie told Elena.

"Okay, I can grab some from the science club. Also, we lost the speaker in the karaoke booth."

Bonnie chuckled and looked at Elena in amusement. "Hey, it's all good, Elena."

"I agree. Calm down and look around you. This is a huge success." I grinned at her, trying to reassure her as well.

"You mean that I can do more than just wreak vampire havoc?" Elena raised a brow and looked at us disbelievingly.

"Go figure," Bonnie answered, making Elena and I giggle again.

"Hey! Carter, right?" Elena called a guy fixing something. "You're with the carnival."

"That'll be me," the guy answered and walked closer to us.

"Great." Elena smiled at him and Carter's face lit up when his gaze drifted to Bonnie. I couldn't help but smirk at this.

"Wow, what do you need beautiful?" He stepped forward while still looking at Bonnie. This made a light blush dust her cheeks.

"What do you know about karaoke speakers?" she shyly asked, still blushing.

"Why don't you show me the problem?"

"Yeah Bonnie, show him the problem." I turned to her with the same smirk, making her blush a darker shade of pink.

"Okay. Come on." She then went away with Carter following her.

"Well, what do you know, Bonnie just got a crush." Elena giggled while looking at Bonnie.

"Yeah." I grinned before telling Elena, "Hey, I'm going to go roam around the carnival. Call me if you need anything."

"Noted. See you later!"

"Yup, see you!"

I then searched for interesting stuff in the carnival. After roaming around for a couple of minutes, I stumbled upon the wrestling club. My curiosity got the best of me when Tyler won three consecutive arm-wrestling matches. Suddenly, I felt someone's presence behind me.

"And, the douchebag has arrived," I said without taking my eyes off of the ongoing match.

"You're still mad at me about the other day?" he groaned and looked at me in disbelief.

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm merely stating a fact."

"How did you even know it was me?"

"None of your business." I nonchalantly shrugged my shoulders and continued to watch the ongoing match.

"Come on! Tell me!" he whined, which just irritated me.

"I'm just an awesome human being, who can detect douchebags like you," I answered back in a disinterested tone, earning an annoyed groan from the vampire.

"Really? You seriously won't let that go?"

"Yes, really. It's a perfect fit for you. Damon the douchebag." I tested it and then thought for a moment. "Hmm, maybe I should find a stronger word. Jerk? Hmm, can be but not really, too weak. Wanker? Probably jackass? Or better yet, arsehole? Oh, asshat Damon works too – actually."

"Damn, this won't go away anytime soon," Damon grumbled once again. "Just tell me. Please?" He then gave me puppy-dog eyes, which I wasn't sure if it was even puppy-dog eyes.

"That is for me to know and for you to find out." I smirked once more as another groan escaped his lips. "By the way, you should work on your puppy-dog eyes. You definitely suck at it."

My smirk just got bigger as Damon groaned for the nth time after I pushed more of his buttons.

"So annoying…" He narrowed his eyes at me as I enjoyed the free entertainment that I was offered with.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"None of your business." He gave me one of his infamous smirks, not even sparing me a glance.

I narrowed my eyes at him and all I wanted to do right now was to wipe that annoying smirk off of his face. Following his line of sight, he was intently watching the match, specifically Tyler. _Might as well test my theory_ , I thought. "Why are you watching Tyler?"

His head quickly snapped to my direction as his face was filled with shock. "How the hell did you know?"

"How wouldn't I? You're watching him like a hawk, moron." I shrugged and thought of reasons why he would want to observe Tyler. There was only the possible reason I could think of. "He did something out of the ordinary, didn't he?"

Finally, a smug smirk started to make its way on my face when Damon looked at me with wide eyes, proving my assumption right. "So, I am right."

He was about to open his mouth again but Stefan came and interrupted him. _Thank you, Stefan! You_ _'_ _re a lifesaver_ , I thought.

"You're lurking," he told Damon before smiling at me. "Hi, Danny."

"Hi, Stefan." I grinned at the younger Salvatore.

"How come you're nice to him?" Damon whined, making me roll my eyes at him.

"It's simple. I like Stefan and he hasn't acted like a total douchebag for the past couple of days unlike someone here." I just shrugged my shoulders as he groaned.

"Will you stop calling me that?"

"Why should I?" I mockingly tilted my head in confusion. "As I said, it fits you perfectly, douchebag."

Damon groaned for the nth time while Stefan couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter, making me smirk.

"Burned." Stefan managed to say while still making fun of his brother.

"Shut up, Stefan!" Damon glared at his brother and finally changed the subject, knowing he couldn't win against me. "For your information, I'm observing."

"More like obsessing." Stefan retorted, making me laugh. Damon glared daggers at me but I just shrugged and returned it with a smirk.

"He's got strength."

"He's a triple letter varsity athlete, of course, he has strength. You're reaching." Stefan countered Damon's argument.

"True." I nodded my head as Damon glared at me once more.

"I bet I can take you," a newcomer said, catching my attention. Looking at the person for a while, I finally realized who he was. It was Mason Lockwood, Tyler's uncle.

"Enter the uncle." A smirk made its way to Damon's face.

"That's ridiculous." Stefan shook his head and still thought Damon was crazy.

Watching the match intently, I was intrigued by the fact that Tyler looked like he was giving his all while Mason seemed like he wasn't even breaking a sweat. In the end, Mason then won the match. My eyes slightly narrowed as I thought, _He didn't even budge._

"Is that it?" Mason laughed at his nephew.

"All right, he's the champ. Who wants to go next?" Tyler clutched his sore arm.

"Stefan wants to go."

I snapped my head towards Damon while Stefan looked at him with knitted brows. Damon, however, just ignored both of us and smirked, urging Stefan to go.

"Yeah, sure, I'll give it a shot." Stefan moved towards the table. When I looked back at where the table was, Mason was looking at me and gave me a smile, which I returned.

"Get him Stef!" Damon cheered.

"My brother over there thinks that I can beat you." Stefan placed his arm on the table and held Mason's hand, getting ready.

"Your brother is wrong." Mason smirked at Stefan. The match finally started and both of them were putting effort. However, it didn't take long for Mason to beat Stefan. Did Stefan just purposely lose the match?

"You didn't put in any effort at all," Damon scoffed at Stefan when he came back to us.

"Yeah, actually I did." Stefan gave us a serious look and I could only look back him disbelievingly. This just fueled my curiosity of the Lockwoods' secret.

"Come with me." Damon made his way to the less crowded hallway as we followed him. "Is he…?"

"No, no, it wasn't that kind of strength but it was more than human if that makes sense."

"What is up with that family? They're not vampires, what the hell are they?" Damon grumbled in annoyance.

"Maybe they're ninja turtles," Stefan suggested, making me laughing again. Damon just glared at me and again, I just ignored it.

"You're not funny. Will you stop laughing, Danny?"

"Nope!" I chirped, causing Stefan to chuckle and Damon to glare at me.

"Or you know, zombies, werewolves," Stefan added and by this time, I had already stopped laughing. When I heard werewolves, somehow, it struck me and I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something to learn about them.

"No comedic timing at all." Damon turned his head away from us and it was like a light bulb just lit in his brain when he saw Carter repairing something.

I looked at him with knitted brows, having a bad feeling about this. "What are you up to?"

"Since this is reality and there's no such thing as werewolves or combat turtles." Damon glanced at us before looking back to Carter.

"I said ninja turtles, actually." Stefan corrected him, which made me giggle as he shot me a smile.

"Hey, you!" Damon called for Carter.

The said man turned to Damon with an annoyed expression on his face. "I have a name."

"Yeah, I don't care." He grabbed Carter's shoulders and then compelled him. "I need you to pick a fight with someone, a kid named Tyler Lockwood."

My eyes widened in shock before I snapped out of it and glared at him. "Damon."

"Damon, don't do this." Stefan tried to stop his brother but he was just ignored.

"It's just an experiment. Get him mad, don't back down no matter what he does, okay?"

"I won't back down," a compelled Carter answered back.

"I know you won't." Damon smirked before letting the man leave.

"What the hell was that?" I hissed at the despicable and irritable vampire. "Someone is going to get hurt because of your stupid plan."

He shook his head and merely smirked again. "No, someone is going to get mad, as in rage."

"Tyler is my friend and he might get hurt because of your so-called experiment. If something happens to him, I will kick your arse!" I glared at the older Salvatore while Stefan held me back in case I tried to kick his brother's arse.

Damon brushed my threats aside and now, it was Stefan's turn to question the older Salvatore. "What's that going to accomplish?"

"That Tyler kid is incapable of walking away from a fight. Let's see who intervenes, maybe it's the ambiguous, supernatural mystery uncle." Damon shrugged before walking away from us.

I was very irritated at the moment but it was overshadowed by my worry for Tyler. "I'm worried about Tyler, Stefan."

"It's okay, Danny. I'll make sure that Tyler will be okay and Damon's compulsion doesn't go too far," He assured me. "I'll go check them now. I'll see you later."

"All right, see you." I was still worried about someone, who might get hurt, but I couldn't really do anything at the moment. With nothing much to do, I decided to take another stroll around the carnival.

There was really something wrong and I couldn't shake that feeling away. My gut kept on telling me that someone was definitely going to be hurt and it was making me more nervous. I tried to distract myself and watch some people play in the booths but they didn't help at all. Nothing could make this bad sensation go away.

As I roamed around, I somehow ended up in an isolated area of the carnival. To my surprise, I wasn't the only one here. From a distance, Damon was talking to Caroline with her back facing me. The bad feeling in my stomach just intensified for some weird reasons. From my position, it seemed like Caroline was crying so I decided to approach them.

Damon moved to embrace her and raised a wooden stake behind Caroline's back. My blood quickly ran cold as the adrenaline pushed me to use my magic to burn the stake. Damon yelled in pain and let go of the burning stake. All of a sudden, Stefan came out of nowhere and pushed Damon away from Caroline before standing in between them.

"Stefan!" Damon groaned in irritation.

"What the _bloody hell_ were you thinking?" I sneered while glaring at Damon. The older Salvatore only glared back at me, knowing that I was the one who burned the stake.

"Get away from me! You killed me!" Caroline screamed at Elena and I was horrified at what I saw. Caroline's face was smeared with blood.

"No, no, no, no Caroline! That wasn't me. You know that! That was Katherine." Elena tried to calm Caroline down but nothing was working.

"No! Then, why does she look like you?" Caroline was terrified of her while trying to keep the brunette away. "And, why did she do this to me?"

"No, it can't be." Getting out of my stupor, I quickly moved to hold Caroline's hand and I felt it – death. "You're a vampire."

"Danny?" Caroline murmured in a small, shaky voice. She was scared that I would shun her after finding out what she did. Instead of backing away, I hugged her and comforted her without caring that the blood might get stain my clothes.

"Shh… It's okay Caroline. Everything will be okay." I rubbed soothing circles on her back as she cried and hugged me back like I was her lifeline.

"Stefan, we've got to get her inside." Elena looked at Stefan and the latter nodded.

"It's okay, Caroline. Come with me." Stefan tugged onto her hand when Caroline and I pulled apart.

"She'll die," Damon told us all with a smirk on his face. "It's only a matter of time."

Stefan shot him a pointed look. "Yeah, maybe so, but it's not going to happen tonight."

"Oh yeah, it is." Damon got another stake from behind his pants and rushed over to them but I was first to put myself in front of Caroline.

"Knock it off, Damon!" I hissed, glaring at him. "She's my friend. Don't you dare touch her!"

Damon hesitated as stared at the stern expression on my face. He then dropped the stake finally getting the message that I would die first before I'd let something happen to Caroline.

"Whatever happens, it's on you." He pointed the stake to all of us.

"Caroline?" Bonnie's voice filled my ears. _Oh, crap! This was definitely bad_ , I thought in panic.

"It's okay. Come on." Stefan tugged onto Caroline, trying to get her away as quickly as possible.

"No. You're not, you can't be." Bonnie quickly touched Caroline and then, her face suddenly turned pale and terrified.

"Bonnie?" Caroline softly called, however, Bonnie backed away and saw the body. She brushed past Caroline and went over to the body before crying out, "Oh God!"

"Bonnie…" Caroline called once more but was only ignored by the former. Stefan took her away as Damon arrived with a shovel in his hands.

"Come on. Don't pout about it. I've got a body to bury. I thought you were calling the shots, no?" Damon directed to Elena before looking at the body. "It sucks to be you, buddy."

After saying that, Damon suddenly groaned and dropped to his knees while clutching his head in pain. The faucet was opened and water came out from the water hose. I looked over to Bonnie and saw her using her magic.

"I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt," Bonnie sneered as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Bonnie, stop!" I yelled but she ignored me and concentrated on Damon.

Damon groaned in pain before managing to say, "I didn't do this."

"Bonnie, it wasn't his fault." This time Elena tried to convince the Bennett witch but she was ignored as well.

Bonnie turned to Elena and her eyes were burning with pure hate and anger. "Everything that happens is his fault, Elena."

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Elena questioned. All of a sudden, fire was lit using the water and it was going towards Damon.

Bonnie wasn't listening and now, I have no choice but to use my magic. I chanted a counter spell and the fire immediately died down. Bonnie's concentration broke and she then looked at me stunned.

"How…?" She muttered in disbelief before yelling at me out of anger, "Why did you stop me?"

"Look at yourself. This isn't you, Bonnie. Killing him will make you no better than him," I calmly said, trying to soothe her pain and calm her down. "It also wasn't his fault, Bon, and you know it. I know you're frustrated and mad but it's just not right to vent all of that anger on him and accuse him of something he didn't do."

"This can't be us. Bonnie, this can't be us." Elena wrapped her arms around Bonnie before looking over to Damon. Both of them started to leave but they stopped midway, realizing that I didn't follow.

"Danny, aren't you coming?" Elena asked.

"I'll catch up to you two later." I gave them a small smile as they nodded and left. I moved towards Damon and helped him up. "You all right?"

"Why don't you try getting your brains fried and then almost get burnt alive?" he replied scornfully, narrowing his eyes at me.

"You'll live." I ignored his sardonic remark and started walking towards the parking lot.

"Where are you going?" Damon then asked, stopping me in my tracks.

"Home. I can't take any more of this in one day." I then continued my way to the parking lot.

"Hey, witchy!" Damon called so I turned around to face him. "Thank you." This honestly surprised me because I never expected this, especially since he had such a sincere expression on his face.

"Is Damon Salvatore really saying thank you?" I exaggerated a gasp. "I'm so shocked. The world must be ending!"

"Hilarious…" He rolled his eyes before glaring at me.

"Okay, no need for sarcasm. Seriously, you can't even take a joke and you say you're the fun brother." I grinned as he glared at me again. "You're welcome, Salvatore. I'm sorry for what Bonnie did to you by the way. You didn't deserve it."

Damon just looked at me dumbfounded and I guessed he didn't expect that. Another smirk made its way to my face. "Even though you're a jerk and a douchebag. Oh, and definitely a jackass and an arsehole too."

Glaring at me, Damon groaned out of exasperation. "Somebody kill me now."

I then laughed, having fun in pushing Damon's buttons again. "Well, goodnight." I waved goodbye and made my way to the parking lot again.

"Goodnight." I faintly heard as it put a smile on my face. At least, something quite good came out from this day.

* * *

Hi, guys! :) Really sorry for the long wait. Here's another chapter for you! Thank you so much for the follows, favorites, and reviews! :) So, I added more things on how Danny interacted with Damon. It was really fun writing their interactions! ;) I promise I'll post another chapter soon because I already finished the next six chapters. But, I just want to get a feedback first before posting the next one. Please tell me what you think about this chapter. Until next time~! :)  
\- Sylkes

* * *

* **PrincessMagic:** Thank you so much! And, I'm glad you like it! :)


	7. Chapter 6

**Danielle**

The sound of my ringing phone filled my ears, disrupting my much-needed sleep. I groaned in annoyance when my alarm clock read 6:30 a.m.

 _Who the bloody hell would call me this early in the morning?_ _I still want to sleep_.

I went back to sleep, trying to ignore my noisy phone. However, the person on the other line was quite persistent and called me once again when I didn't answer the first call. Another annoyed groan escaped my lips, cursing the person for disturbing my lovely sleep.

 _Ugh, fine! I'll pick it up!_

I picked up the phone not even bothering to know who it was and threatened, "You better give me a damn good reason why I shouldn't snap at you right now for waking me up this early in the morning."

"I… Uhh…" Damon stuttered and tried to be careful as if one wrong move, he would get killed.

"Spill it, Salvatore."

"Elena, Stefan, and I would like to ask you a favor to come here at the Salvatore boarding house. Please?" he surprisingly requested in a very nice and polite way.

"Why the hell do you even need me there this early in the morning?" I glared at nothing in particular.

"It's for something really important so pretty please?"

I contemplated for a moment before answering, "Fine. But if this is something really trivial, I will castrate you!"

"See you!" He quickly hung up.

I got out of bed knowing that I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep after that. Getting my outfit for the day, I went to the bathroom and the mirror showed the dark circles that formed under my eyes.

"This is what I get for staying up until past midnight researching for something nearly extinct and hard to find." I sighed and went into the shower, taking my time.

After coming home from the carnival last night, I asked Elena to tell me what exactly happened before the incident with Caroline last night. To sum everything up, Katherine happened. She told me that Katherine turned Caroline to send the Salvatore brothers a message. To top that, she has been wreaking havoc for the past few days and apparently, she started with Uncle John that ended with him being sent to the hospital.

Somehow, my gut told me that it was not the only reason and I just couldn't shake off that feeling. From what I gathered, Katherine was sly and manipulative. I just have this gut feeling that the real reason behind her return to Mystic Falls was something much complicated than wanting to get Stefan back. All of this was just too sketchy.

After my talk with Elena, I was about to go to sleep but I suddenly remembered something that caught my attention. Werewolves, they just seem so mysterious and something was pulling me towards them. I spent the whole time researching about them and anything related such as folklores and myths. There was nothing much about werewolves on the Internet and some of my family books.

One certain info was still engraved in my mind up until now. Werewolf gene was dormant only until the curse was triggered, and the only way to trigger the werewolf curse was if a werewolf made his first human kill, intentionally or accidentally.

After a few more minutes, I went out of the shower and prepared for the day. I put on some makeup on to hide my dark circles because I couldn't have Grandma questioning me what I was doing.

"Morning, Grandma." I kissed her on the cheek when I got to the kitchen.

"Morning, sweetheart," she replied as I got some toast and started eating.

"Grandma, Elena needs me for something so I'm going out for a while."

"All alright, just be careful."

"I will." I smiled before drinking some of my orange juice. "Do you need to buy anything in the grocery? I can drop by the supermarket and do it for you."

"It's all right, sweetheart. I got it covered." She smiled, looking up from her book. "Just focus on whatever you girls are going to do."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Grandma." I kissed her cheek.

Grandma placed her book down and said, "Take care, okay?"

I lightly chuckled before replying, "I promise I will."

I made my way out of the house and drove to the boarding house. After a few minutes, I arrived at the boarding house and rang the doorbell. It didn't take long for the door to be opened and Stefan quickly greeted me with a smile.

"Morning, Danny. Thanks for coming."

"Morning." I smiled before an exasperated sigh escaped my lips. "Well, your annoying brother told me to come here for something important. So, here I am."

"Sorry about that. Come in." Stefan lightly chuckled and moved aside to let me enter. "Let's go to the living room. The others are there."

Stefan then led me to the said room and when we arrived at the living room, Elena, Damon, and an unknown man sat on the couch. Apparently, I was the only person who wasn't present yet.

" _After centuries of waiting, she finally arrives_!" Damon exclaimed in exasperation.

My head quickly snapped to Damon's direction as I glared daggers at him. "Got a problem with that, douchebag?"

Damon groaned after hearing what I called him. "Drop the damn nickname already."

"Sure, when pigs fly." I plopped on the couch near Elena and smirked when an annoyed look crossed his face. The other occupants in the room just laughed at the older Salvatore, making him glare at me.

"You're such a pain in my ass, Danny the bitchy witch." Damon taunted, probably hoping to irk me. However, it just did the opposite.

"I'll take that as a compliment." An amused smirk made its way on my face as I shrugged before giving him a sickly-sweet smile. "At least, I'm not a dumbass, who simply can't understand that I'm never dropping the damn nickname – unlike some douchebag I know."

Damon's smug expression a while ago quickly fell as he glared at me once more. My smirk only got bigger as I smugly leaned back on the couch. The other people in the room burst into laughter because they couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Savage!" Elena exclaimed, laughing harder.

"Shots fired! Oh God, you're really hilarious!" The unknown man laughed as he made fun of Damon.

Stefan smirked at his brother and said, "You know, Damon, you should really learn to stop messing with Danny if you know what's best for you. Although, I never get tired of watching this."

"Shut up, Stefan." Damon glared at Stefan but the younger Salvatore merely made fun of him again.

"I like you." The unknown man grinned at me, making me laugh.

I smiled and said, "I'm flattered. Thank you very much."

"I'm Alaric Saltzman by the way. Call me Ric." Ric extended a hand towards me.

"So, you're Alaric. I've heard about you from Jenna." I teasingly smiled, making the said man blush. I then reached for the handshake. "Danielle Sullivan. You can call me Danny."

I then turned to Elena and the others and said, "Okay, back to business. What's this important thing you were saying?"

"Yeah, we're hoping you and Ric could shed some light on the Lockwood family." Stefan placed both of his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.

"Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwoods?" Ric raised a brow in confusion.

I looked at them with knitted brows and raised a hand. "I second to that."

"Well, you wouldn't but your dead, not dead vampire wife might." Damon directed to Ric before turning to me. "As for you, witchy, couldn't you use your juju magic? Besides, you said something about the Lockwood boy doing something supernatural."

I gave him a blank look and said, "It doesn't work that way. Magic has its limits and it can only do much. As for the other one, it was the most logical reason I could think of as to why you would suddenly have any interest in Tyler. Besides, it wasn't my fault you're such a _genius_ you gave away everything." I shrugged my shoulders as a triumphant smirk made its way to my face after seeing Damon's face.

Damon opened and closed his mouth for a couple of times, trying to get any words out. However, he couldn't make any snide remark and once again, they quickly burst into laughter. They tried to stop but apparently, it seemed hard.

"All right, guys, back to the topic," I smirked as Damon just glared at me, which just amused me more.

Elena then turned to Ric and said, "Isobel's research from when you guys were at Duke together might help."

"You said that she had spent years researching this town." Stefan leaned forward from the couch.

Ric heaved a sigh and said, "Isobel's research here in Mystic Falls rooted in folklores and legends but at that time I thought much of which was fiction."

"Like that amazing vampire story." Damon sat on an armchair.

"Aside from vampires, what else?" Elena asked, seemingly interested.

"The lycanthrope." My ears perked up when I heard Ric's answer. Damon and Stefan shared curious glances before turning back to Ric.

"Wait, like werewolves?" Elena looked at Ric with knitted brows before leaning forward. This got my full attention now because this might be my chance to know more about them.

"No way, impossible, way too Lon Chaney," Damon scoffed and shook his head.

Stefan turned to his brother and raised a brow. "Is it?"

"I've been on this planet for one hundred sixty some odd years. Never came across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?"

I heaved a sigh and finally sat properly. "Werewolves are already near extinction that's why. Vampires hunted most of them down throughout the centuries. They're very hard to come by." Everyone looked at me with a surprised expression, definitely not expecting me to know anything about werewolves.

Damon looked at me with knitted brows as he said, "What are you now, the werewolf guru? How do you know?"

"I researched about werewolves last night because I got curious when Stefan suggested it." I narrowed my eyes at Damon and prevented myself from making a snide remark. "I only found very few information about them, though."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Well, this would've been a lot easier if you said that in the first place."

Okay, he needed to shut it now and this time I didn't hold myself back. "Well, you never told me what the hell this was about. Besides, who was it again who quickly shot down the idea of werewolves when Stefan suggested it?"

I pretended to think for a while and exclaimed, "Oh, right! If I'm not mistaken, it was a certain douchebag, who goes by the name of Damon Salvatore. Now zip it, asshat."

At this moment, Damon and I were having a glaring contest. Stefan and Elena held their urge to laugh while Ric snorted, not really caring that Damon now glared at him.

"Okay." Ric bit his bottom lip and tried to calm down before telling Damon, "I don't get why you suspect the Lockwoods."

"Because vervain didn't affect the mayor at Founder's Day but the Gilbert device did and it affected his son, Tyler."

"And at the school carnival, his Uncle Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought with one of the carnival's workers. It suggests it's some sort of a supernatural entity," Stefan added, making Ric think for a moment.

"We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure out what it is," Elena told Ric as she shifted on the couch.

"Well, all her things are still in Duke. I mean her office is still there. She's technically still missing."

"So, can we get access to it?" Damon raised a brow at Ric, who only shrugged his shoulders – not really knowing how to answer the vampire. The older Salvatore frowned before leaning forward.

"Ric, we need to know what we are dealing with. If this wolf-man thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it is not good." His expression became serious and irritated as he continued whatever he was saying. "It means Mason Lockwood is a real-life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney junior which means Bella Lugosi, meaning me, is totally screwed."

 _Well, isn_ _'_ _t this just a really nice way to start a day?_ I just rolled my eyes, thinking how this day might just end up turning into a crappy one.

~~~~~X~~~~~

I just currently finished packing some stuff for my mini trip to Duke and I was about to head out to Elena's house. It was decided that I would go too and I wanted to go as well anyway. Somehow, werewolves were intriguing me so much and I needed to sate my curiosity. I definitely wouldn't let this chance slip. Before anything else, Grandma needed to know that I would be out for the rest of the day.

"Grandma." I looked at the living room but she wasn't there.

"In the office, sweetheart."

Once I got to the office, she stopped what she was doing and gave me a curious smile. "Why do you look so excited? You even have a packed bag."

"That obvious?" I laughed as she nodded, smiling in amusement. "I just want to tell you that I'm going to Duke with Elena and the others."

"For what, might I ask?" She removed her glasses and placed it on top of the table.

"Well, you see, we're going to research some things about werewolves." I grinned at her but she stiffened, her smile faltering a bit. It was as if she heard something she dreaded the most. Even though she quickly covered it up, I could still feel her uneasiness.

"Why the sudden interest in werewolves?" Grandma gently smiled at me but something was wrong. I could tell it.

"Well, I don't really know. They intrigue me so much and I just feel like there's something to know about them. I definitely want to know more about them. You see, it's kind of like what I feel about Uncle Keith when I ask you about him. Something is just telling me that I should know more about werewolves. Grandma, I can't really explain but I just know I need this."

My explanation didn't help Grandma look any calmer. She just looked more tense and stiff than a while ago although she tried her best to hide it. This was really odd and suspicious. Something was up and my gut was telling me so. It didn't help me prove it wrong because Grandma was acting really strange.

"Okay, just promise me that you will be careful and that you will take care of yourself." She looked at me with such seriousness in her eyes. Now, I was more certain that something was definitely wrong.

I tilted my head in confusion before smiling. "Grandma, nothing will happen to me. I'm with Elena and the others. I'll be fine." My attempt of assuring her didn't really work because her serious demeanor didn't change or at least falter.

"Promise me," Grandma repeated with a stern voice that she rarely used and this sent a bad feeling in my stomach. More questions just kept on popping in my head.

"I will. I promise." I smiled at her to assure her once again.

"I just need you to be safe, sweetie. I don't want anything to happen to you." Grandma just hugged me tightly as if this would be the last time she would hug me. "I love you so much, Danny."

My heart clenched when I heard her mutter those words. Somehow, it just made me sad to hear them together with the raw emotions she was showing me.

"I love you more, Grandma. I promise nothing will happen." I hugged her a bit tighter.

"I already took too much of your time." Pulling away, she kissed my forehead and gently smiled at me with an unknown emotion in her eyes. "Go on now, darling."

"Okay. I might be home late so please don't stay up to wait for me. You need to sleep early and have plenty of rest."

Grandma chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "Okay, noted."

"Bye, Grandma." I kissed her cheek and before I fully closed the door, I heard her utter something in a sad and distant voice.

"I love you so much. Goodbye, sweetheart."

Something was definitely amiss with Grandma. It didn't even help calm me that I was having this bad feeling bubbling inside me. What on earth was wrong?

While driving to Elena's house, I still couldn't shake off that bad feeling. What exactly was wrong with Grandma? She became so uneasy when I mentioned about werewolves, but why?

 _I guess I_ _'_ _ll just have to ask her when I get home tonight._

I pushed this issue aside and tried to focus on other things. It didn't take long for me arrive at Elena's since her house was not that far from mine. I parked the car and turned off the engine. When I walked to the house, Damon was leaning on the car, probably waiting for Elena.

"Hey, douchebag," I smirked at the nickname that I had grown accustomed to calling Damon.

Damon groaned in frustration. "Kill me."

"Hmm, this is surprising." My amused smirk just got bigger. "Looks like you finally drilled it into your thick skull that I'm never dropping it." Shrugging my shoulders, I ignored the glares that Damon sent me and placed my bag inside the car.

"Sorry you can't come too, Stef," Damon mocked his brother, making me roll my eyes. Closing the backseat door, I went back to where the others were. Ric went to the driver's seat while Elena placed her bag in the car.

"Hi, guys." I smiled as they greeted back.

Stefan merely ignored his brother and turned to Elena. "Call me if you need anything."

"Oh, I'll take really good care of her," Damon interrupted, making Elena glare at him. Still glaring, Elena caught Stefan by the neck and kissed him in front of Damon, who turned his head away.

"Oh God, stop!" Covering my eyes, I mockingly scrunched my face and started to make gagging sounds. "Seriously, you and Caroline really should stop tainting my innocent mind."

"Really, Danny? You just had to ruin the moment." Elena heaved an exasperated sigh while Stefan, on the other hand, just shook his head and chuckled. I innocently smiled at my pouting friend and shrugged my shoulders.

"Okay, time to go." Damon opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat as Elena and I entered sat on the backseat.

Ric then drove away and to our destination, Duke. As I watched the scenery pass by, it became harder to keep my eyes open and the fatigue was starting to get to me. With nothing to do, I closed my eyes and tried to take a nap.

"How are you doing back there? You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly," Damon told Elena, probably.

"I don't think she's pretending. You did kill her brother." I heard Ric argue.

Right, Stefan told me that this might happen. Apparently, Damon killed Jeremy last night and thank God, he was wearing the Gilbert ring. Stefan also told me that Katherine might be the reason why Damon acted the way he did and it just made me dislike her more. She hasn't even shown her face since turning Caroline.

"There is a huge asterisk next to that statement. He came back to life." Damon shot back.

"Yeah, thanks to the ring, you didn't know he was wearing," Elena retorted from beside me.

 _Can_ _'_ _t sleep. Too much bickering and noise._ I turned away from them and tried to sleep.

"Why are you so sure I didn't know?"

"Did you?"

"Yes."

 _Just try to ignore it, Danny. Try to sleep. You need it after a night of hard work,_ I told myself.

Apparently, this added fuel to the fire. Elena then accused, "You're lying."

"Elena, I saw the ring! It's a big tacky thing, it's hard to miss," Damon replied in defense.

 _I can't take this anymore!_

I opened my eyes and glared at both of them. " _Shut up!_ "

Silence suddenly engulfed the whole car as I caught their attention. "I am tired and I want to sleep. But, I can't because you two idiots won't stop bickering with each other. Both of you will shut it because so help me God, I will make you. Do I make myself clear?" I hissed in a menacing tone. The two idiots hesitantly nodded their heads while Ric tried to hold his laughter.

"Good, I'm going back to sleep. If any of you argue again and I wake up, you'll see just how evil I can be." I threatened them again before going back to sleep.

"Okay, I definitely like her." Ric laughed, making me smirk. I just made them a mental note to never cross Danielle Sullivan. With the total silence, I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

~~~~~X~~~~~

I felt someone tugging me to wake up as Elena said, "Danny, wake up. We're here."

I opened my eyes to see that we did arrive at Duke already. Covering my mouth while yawning, I went out of the car and walked towards the office with the others.

"So, Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore," Ric opened the door to the office as we followed him.

"Excuse me. Hi, I'm Alaric Saltzman. I called earlier," Ric told the brunette lady, who was shuffling through some files.

"Yes, of course. I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant of comparative folklore." The woman stopped what she was doing and shook Ric's hand before looking at Elena. "Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys."

"These are my friends Elena, Danielle, and Damon. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition."

"Oh please, Isobel's office is right through there. Isobel was one of my first professors." She opened a drawer and took some keys. "I'm a grad student. She was brilliant and one of the reasons why I went to folklore. Uh… I have to ask, has there been any news?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Ric answered, making her frown.

"It's this way." She heaved a sighed before leading us to the office. Vanessa opened the office door and let us enter. "I'll grab the light. Feel free to look around. It's fascinating, isn't it?"

I went to one of the shelves and started to look for random books that could help us.

"Where did she go?" Damon asked as I opened a book, skimming through it.

The sound of footsteps rang in my ears, making me turn to the door. Vanessa appeared with a crossbow and shot an arrow at Elena. I was far from her so I couldn't get there in time. It was a good thing Damon covered her, which ended up with him receiving the arrow on his back. I quickly knocked the crossbow out of Vanessa's hands and Ric pushed her against the wall.

Ric dragged Vanessa out of the office while I followed closely behind. He stopped in front of a chair and pushed her so she would sit down.

"Please! I freaked, all right? You would have done the same thing. It's not possible! Katherine Pierce can't be alive and Damon Salvatore died in 1864, okay?" She desperately explained to us. "I read Isobel's research."

"Well then, you should know just how possible this is." Ric seriously looked at her in the eye. The creaking of the door made me look at the two, who just came in.

Elena walked towards Vanessa and stopped in front of her. "I'm Elena Gilbert, Isobel's daughter and descendant of Katherine Pierce. And, this is Damon Salvatore who you just shot."

"I'd be extra nice to me right now." Damon had an annoyed smile on his face. I elbowed him in his side, making him groan. Damon glared at me and said, "What the hell was that for?"

I crossed my arms and gave him a look. "Be nice."

Damon rolled his eyes and glared at me, which I just ignored. Elena sighed and asked Vanessa, "Look, we need your help okay? We need to see all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls."

Vanessa nodded her head and led us back to the office. She took a certain box from one of the shelves and placed it on top of the table. "Here are some of her research. I'll go look for the other ones."

We then started looking for information that could help answer our questions. I was currently looking for more information about the lycanthropes while Elena was looking for things about Katherine.

"This box checks Katherine's arrival in Mystic Falls in April 1864." Vanessa placed down a box filled with books and folders on top of the table and showed them to Elena.

Elena looked at the contents of the box before looking up to Vanessa. "Is that all there is about her?"

"All that I'm aware of," She replied while looking through a folder. Elena saw vervain in the box and looked over to Damon.

Elena got some vervain and handed it to Vanessa. "Here, take this."

"Does vervain really work?" she asked us and in return, we just gave her a nod.

"Nope, not at all," Damon said from the other room.

Vanessa leaned towards us and asked, "Can he hear us?"

Elena and I nodded as Damon once again butted in, "No, that would be too creepy."

"Can he read minds too?"

"You know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask."

I just rolled my eyes at his statement and went back to scanning through the book I was holding.

"No, that he can't do." Elena glared at him before getting a book from the box. "He is very capable of being a first-rate jackass."

"That's hilarious." I laughed after hearing Elena's insult to Damon and gave her thumbs up. "This is why you're my best friend."

Smiling, Elena shook her head at my silliness and turned back to her book. Vanessa heeded our advice and placed some vervain in her pocket.

I didn't know how much time has passed but up until now, there was still no new information about werewolves. Some of the info I found was the things that I already knew. There was really not much about werewolves in Isobel's research. I was so engrossed at scanning the book that I didn't notice Damon come to us until he spoke.

"Any luck?"

"There's nothing in here about Katherine that we don't already know." Elena let out a frustrated sigh as she placed a worn paper down.

"Ah, man. You know, it's a bummer we're not friends anymore because I could tell you what I know."

"Now, who's manipulating who?" Elena gave him a look. I just ignored it seeing as I probably would just waste my energy trying to make them stop.

"Hey guys, check this out," Ric said, catching my attention. I went to where he was seated as he handed Vanessa a book.

"There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls, but here are some records of some of the lesser known legends. Everything from Scandinavian skin-walkers to the Maréchal de Retz." Vanessa handed me the book as I read through it and stared at the symbols.

She then pointed at a phrase in the book. "This Aztec phrase roughly translates into 'the curse of the sun and the moon'."

I never saw this one last night in any of my family books. Maybe, I missed it. _I_ _'_ _m going to look through them again when I get home,_ I thought.

"It's Native American." Ric crossed his arms over his chest.

"Aztec. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story: 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon." Vanessa pointed at another image after I turned the page.

"As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, who's ever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf."

Damon looked at her with knitted brows and asked, "Can they control the transformation?"

"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse. Werewolves will attack humans but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice, vampires," Vanessa answered but Damon wouldn't accept this.

"Well, if werewolves were hunting vampires, I would know about it."

Oh, bloody hell! Did he even listen to a word I said this morning? I rolled my eyes in annoyance and said, "I told you already, dumbass. There aren't many werewolves left alive."

Glaring at me, Damon was about to say something but Vanessa beat him at it while nodding her head. "She's right. Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them almost to extinction."

"Why would they do that?" Elena asked this time.

"To protect themselves. Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires."

All of us shared nervous glances. I didn't find anything about that too. If Mason and Tyler were indeed werewolves, then, we were in some serious trouble.

"I have to call Stefan." Elena went out of the room while taking her phone out.

After that info we learned, we went back to searching for more details about werewolves. I was currently reading more about the sun and moon curse. For some reasons, I just felt like something was lacking with what Vanessa told us and I needed to figure it out.

"Hey, have you done any research on doppelgangers?" Elena asked Vanessa, catching my interest.

"Well, the word means a lot of different things to different cultures but typically a doppelganger is a living, breathing double of one's self."

"Did Isobel have anything that explained the link between me and Katherine?"

"That's all she had on Katherine, unfortunately, but I can tell you that doppelgangers usually torment the people they look like, trying to undo their lives. It's not exactly uplifting." Vanessa leaned forward from the chair.

"And more things we already know." Elena sighed while looking at a photo of Katherine. "Just… I want to know why we look alike."

"Head scratcher, isn't it?" Damon placed the book down.

Elena glared at him. "Do you know something or are you just being yourself?"

"There they go again." I rolled my eyes and shared a look with Ric before turning back to my book. I gave up on trying to make them stop a long time ago.

"Well, if I know anything, I'm not going to tell you, not with that attitude," Damon smirked, making her glare intensify.

"That's good, Damon, and this is coming from someone who wants to be my friend, but you know what? Friends don't manipulate friends, they help each other." She turned away from him and left.

"For the love of God, somebody please kill me now." An exasperated sigh escaped my lips for the nth time today as I banged my head onto the table. Having to endure this the whole day was just pure torture.

~~~~~X~~~~~

 _Thank God, we_ _'_ _re going home! I don_ _'_ _t think I can take any more of their stupid arguments,_ I thought while waiting for Ric. Honestly, hearing Elena and Damon bicker the whole day was driving me insane. At this point, nothing would make me want to go with Elena and Damon so I stuck with Ric and waited for him to finishing talking to Vanessa. If ever I hear them quarrel with each other again, this time I might just go crazy.

"Let's go, Danny." Ric passed by me as I followed him.

As we made our way to the car, Elena and Damon were talking. _Oh God, don_ _'_ _t tell me they_ _'_ _re fighting again._

Just then, I noticed that Elena was holding a book and it made me curious what that book was about.

"Hey, let's go?" I asked, making them turn to me.

"Yup." Elena went inside the car and I followed her.

The road back to Mystic Falls started as I was recalled all of the things that I had learned today. My curiosity was killing me because werewolves were still a mystery to me. I just found things that I already knew and it was honestly frustrating. With that, the drive back to our town continued with me still in my train of thoughts.

After a few hours of driving, we finally arrived at Elena's. Since it was already late, I bade them goodbye and drove home. After arriving at the house, I grabbed my house keys and made my way to the front door. I was about to open the door when I noticed the door was slightly open.

 _That_ _'_ _s strange. Why is the door open?_ I tilted my head in confusion as I cautiously went inside the house. Grandma always made sure the door was closed and locked.

"Grandma?" I called but there was no answer. Okay, I really have a bad feeling now. She might be in the living room because even if I told her not to wait for me, she still would.

On my way to the living room, I noticed small trails of blood on the floorboard, making my blood run cold. Quickly following the trail, I was horrified at the scene in front of me as a scream escaped my lips. My grandma lay in a pool of blood with her stomach stabbed with a knife.

"No, no, no." Shaking my head in denial, I quickly knelt down beside her as eyes started to get teary. " _God, please no! Please!_ " At this moment, nothing mattered to me because all I needed was my grandma alive.

My shaky hands reached for her neck as I tried to look for a pulse. I quickly paled as tears ran down my cheeks. She was gone. I felt nothing but numbness course through my body. With trembling hands, I struggled to reach for my phone and after a while, I managed to dial Sheriff Forbes' number.

"Danny, how may I help you?" she greeted.

"Sheriff, Pl-Please come here quickly… Grandma's… m-murdered…" I choked between my sentences.

"Danny, I'm on my way. Stay there and be careful, okay?" she immediately responded. The phone slipped through my fingers and I cradled my grandma in my arms and hug her with all my might.

"I'm sorry… Please forgive me… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry… Forgive me, please…" I sobbed while caressing my grandmother's face. My guilt was eating me alive because this was my entire fault. I shouldn't have left this morning. I knew there was something wrong but I pushed it aside because of my selfish desire to go to Duke and find out more about werewolves.

Several footsteps echoed in the house as Sheriff Forbes arrived together with some deputies and medics. A gasp escaped the sheriff's lips when she entered the living room. I didn't need to look at her to know that her face held pure horror. There was no energy or will, left in me as I merely stared into nothingness, still holding on to my grandma.

The deputies and the medics hastily went to do their jobs. However, I still refused to move from my spot because I couldn't. I just felt numb and hollow inside. Somebody knelt down beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I quickly knew who it was but I didn't face her.

"Danny," Sheriff Forbes uttered in a soft voice and this time I turned to her. A sad, gentle smile crossed her face as she stared at me. I knew why. My face was completely void of any emotion and I was a mess.

"Sweetheart, it's okay." She gently cupped my right cheek and brushed a lone tear.

"My grandma is gone… She's gone…" My grip on my grandmother completely loosened as tears ran down my cheeks again. "Liz, she's gone."

"Shh… It's okay, Danny. I'm here." Liz immediately brought me into a tight, comforting embrace when another sob wracked through my body. "It's okay."

All of this was too much for me and the only thing I could do was to clutch onto her, sobbing.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's get you out." She gently helped me stand up and led me to the ambulance outside.

As I sat on the back of the ambulance, some medics quickly examined me if I sustained any wounds. It wasn't a surprise since my clothes were mostly covered in blood. My arms were currently being cleaned from blood when a deputy came to us.

"Sheriff, a word?" a deputy said and the said person nodded. Standing a few feet away from me, they started talking in a low voice so I couldn't really make out what they were saying.

After a while, Liz came and said, "Danny, you'll be staying at our house, for now, okay?"

As much as I wanted to answer, I couldn't. No words would come out of my mouth as I stared into space. My tears have long stopped but I just couldn't do this.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's go." She helped me stand up and led me to her car.

During the car ride, I did nothing but stare blankly at the places we passed by. I hated this feeling, the feeling of losing someone dear to you. Things were becoming better for me since I came here. I thought my scars could heal and I could be put back together, but I just didn't know how wrong I was.

When we arrived, Caroline was waiting for me there on the front porch. She gave me those pity-filled eyes that I hated so much. Caroline quickly hugged me, without caring how dirty I was, but I didn't respond or cry again. I just had no will left in me to do so.

Giving a nod to her mom, Caroline took my hand and squeezed it tightly. "Come on, Danny. Let's get you cleaned up."

Caroline then led me to her room and helped me get cleaned up before helping me get to bed in a spare room. She was about to go but I grasped her hand and said in a trembling voice, "Please… Please stay with me… I don't want to be alone. I'm… I'm scared."

A small, sad smile crossed her face as she lay down beside me and engulfed me in an embrace. "Shhh… It's okay, Danny. You don't have to be scared. I'm here with you."

She gently ran her hands through my hair in a soothing manner as I held on to her like my life depended on it. Closing my eyes, I tried to sleep but to no avail, I couldn't. The images of my grandmother lying in the pool of her blood would haunt me whenever I closed my eyes. All of the memories of my loved ones kept on coming back and I didn't know how much longer I could still hold on.

Why was it that every single person dear to me was being taken from me? Was I not worth of any happiness even if it was only a little? My once scarred heart was now shattered into pieces and this time I didn't think anything could piece it back together.

* * *

Here you go, guy! What do you think about it? :) I changed quite a lot in this chapter because the old version of chapter 6 was weird for me. I'll post a new chapter soon so until next time! ;)


	8. Chapter 7

**Danielle**

A week has passed since my grandmother's funeral and it hasn't been any better for me. I haven't had one decent night of sleep since and I still struggled to cope with what happened. My nightmares just became worse this time and in each of them, I blamed myself for my grandmother's death. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was my grandmother lying in a pool of her own blood.

My friends did try their best to be there for me and cheer me up, and I was really grateful for that. However, it just wasn't enough to ease this emptiness and numbness inside of me. At the funeral, I couldn't even properly greet the people, who came to offer their condolences. I did try to pull myself together just for that day but I really couldn't. Every single part of me just wanted to shut everything out and make every pain stop.

Most of the time I just stared into space, not really paying attention to the people around me. Plenty of people came and told me how much of a good person my grandmother was, but I didn't even know most of them.

That whole week I stayed at Caroline's and I was really grateful to her and Liz for taking care of me. Last week, I accidentally heard Liz talking to someone from work about an update on my grandmother's case. Of course, I didn't let the chance slip because I needed to know.

~~~~~X~~~~~

 _I was about to go back to the guest room when Liz's voice rang in my ears. She was on the front porch talking to someone from work. My whole body quickly tensed when I heard what she said. She was talking about my grandmother's case. Hiding from sight, I muttered a small spell to let me hear whatever they were discussing. Surely, Liz wouldn't tell me anything about this because she would definitely think that this would be too much for me. I had to know and I knew I needed this._

" _Anything on the autopsy report?" Liz asked as the deputy handed her a file._

" _Postmortem lividity suggests that she was killed between six to eight in the evening. The cause of death was the multiple stab wounds and loss of blood."_

 _Liz continued to scan through the file. "Anything else?"_

" _There were also puncture marks on her neck." The man gave her a look as her posture quickly stiffened._

" _This is a vampire's doing. Agatha didn't deserve this. I don't know what would happen to Danny from now on."_

" _We all know she didn't. We've asked some of the neighbors to tell us anything unusual. Baxter told me he's already back at the station."_

" _Let's go." Liz then went off to work with her colleague, leaving me to ponder on the new information._

~~~~~X~~~~~

A vampire had murdered my last living blood relative so I did an investigation of my own after that. Damon was out of the picture since he was with us the whole time in Duke. Stefan and Caroline were cleared as well because they were having training the whole day. Then, they went to the party in the woods, which almost got them killed by a wolf. There was only one vampire left and it just fueled my burning hatred for her. One of these days, she would definitely get what she deserved.

After a week of staying at Caroline's, I was finally setting foot on my family house again. With my bags on my shoulder, I stood in front of the door and took my keys out. A part of me was still terrified to enter my home as I eyed the doorknob with the key on my hand.

"Are you really sure you'll be okay?" Caroline's question snapped me out of it, making me turn to her. "You can always stay at my house."

A small, appreciative smile adorned my face. "I can't possibly stay at your house forever. I've already imposed on you and Liz too much. I'll be okay, Care."

"You know, you don't have to if you're not ready yet." She wore a worried expression on her face as I heaved a sigh.

"I know but… I have to." I looked at her in the eye as she sighed and frowned, knowing that nothing could possibly change my mind.

"Okay. Just promise me you'll call me when you need anything."

I returned the comforting embrace that she gave me. "I promise."

"I'll see you soon, Danny."

"See you." I smiled at her as I let go of her.

Caroline gave me a smile one last time before leaving me alone on my front porch. Turning back to the front door, I was about to put the key into the keyhole when I hesitated, making me freeze. I was terrified to go in because for sure, horrifying images of the incident would once again come rushing in. My words to Caroline popped in my head as I slightly shook my head. No, I had to do this. If I started running away now, it wouldn't ever stop.

Taking a deep breath, I unlocked the front door and finally entered the house. A heavy feeling of sadness and guilt suddenly seemed to weigh on my heart as I looked at my home. A part of me actually hoped that all of this was just a nightmare and my grandmother would just come out of the living room and greet me with a warm smile on her face. Who was I kidding? Of course, my grandmother wouldn't be there to greet. She was gone after all.

It just felt empty and cold, and somehow, it was suffocating. I quickly headed to my room, seeing as I couldn't dare myself to enter the living room. Dropping my bags downs beside my bed, I plopped down onto my bed and tried to calm my nerves as I covered my eyes with one arm. A few deep breaths just did the trick and helped me become less jittery.

The silence was deafening and the only thing I could hear was the sound of steady beats of my heart. This past week really did take its toll on me and I had done nothing but cry until I grew tired and fell asleep. Why did all of this even happen? Why me?

Then, something popped in my head as I drowned myself in misery. I sat up on my bed and grabbed a white envelope from my bag. A few days ago, my grandmother's lawyer discussed to me the details of my inheritance. Grandma had stated in her will that some of her possessions would be given to me and she also left me this white envelope with my name written on it.

Even though it made me wonder what was inside the envelope, I never opened it since receiving it because I couldn't. I was in denial while wallowing myself in misery. I was scared to know what was inside it but just as I told Caroline, I needed to do this. It was time to face reality.

"Well, here goes nothing." Taking a deep breath, I opened the letter and my brows quickly furrowed. An old key was inside the envelope and I held it in my hand while inspecting it. "What the hell is this old key for?"

Nothing was making any sense to me because clearly, there was no keyhole in this house that would fit the old key. With my curiosity getting the best of me, I searched through the whole house for anything that could give me a clue on what this old key was for. From the living room to the study room and to my grandmother's office, there was nothing at all. No keyhole in the house could fit this key even after I search every inch of this house.

Sighing, I went back to my room and plopped down the bed once again, finally giving up. As I held the key above me, I couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated and curious at the same time. It was really odd that my grandmother gave me an old key.

"What was this key for?" As more unanswered questions popped in my head, another defeated sigh escaped my lips.

Sitting up, I placed the key on top of my bedside table before noticing that there was something else in the envelope. It seemed to be another envelope but a bit smaller. Taking the smaller envelope, I opened it and my breath hitched, realizing what it was.

 _My sweet Danielle,_

 _If you're reading this right now, then it must mean I'm gone. I'm so sorry for breaking my promise to you that I would be with you every step of the way. I just left you all alone in all of this mess and I'm very sorry for that. As I told you before, your parents and I never wanted you to be dragged into all of this supernatural mess. But, things don't always go the way we want it to be, does it?_

 _You are very special, Danielle. You have incredible power within you and people will definitely want to have that for their own. The world we live in is a dangerous place after all. So, please, sweetheart, be careful and take care of yourself. Hone your magic so you can protect yourself. I don't want anything to happen to you and most definitely your parents._

 _I'm so sorry for keeping a lot of secrets from you, sweetheart. I'm so sorry for the pain and misery that your parents and I caused. I hope that one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me for every wrong that I have done to you. I'm so sorry for everything, sweetheart._

 _Loving you with all my heart,_

 _Agatha Sullivan_

Why did all of this happen to me? I wanted all of this pain to stop because I couldn't take this anymore. It hurt so much. Tears streamed down my face as another sob wracked my whole body. I clutched the letter towards my chest hoping to stop every pain as I once again drowned in my sorrow and misery.

* * *

I'M FINALLY BACK! I'M SO SORRY FOR THE SUPER LONG WAIT GUYS BUT HERE'S A NEW CHAPTER! It's a filler chapter, I know, but I wanted to show how Danny is coping with Agatha's death first before anything else. It's something that I regret not doing before because I wasn't able to show Danny's character more. One thing I really like about Danny is that she keeps a tough front but in fact, she's just too beaten and broken inside. And this chapter just shows how vulnerable Danny is after all that she's been through. I'm almost done with the next chapter and hopefully, I can post it soon. Until next time guys! ;)

\- Sylkes

* * *

 ***Guest:** Thank you so much for reading! :)

 ***Adela:** Thank you so much for reading! :) I feel bad too but I think it's necessary for Danny's character development and it shows just how broken she is. :(


	9. Chapter 8

**Danielle**

Anxiety ran through my body as I stood at the Gilbert house's front porch and waited for someone to open the door after ringing the doorbell. Hopefully, no one would notice of the dark circles under my eyes, which I desperately tried to hide with makeup. Apparently, Jenna was having a barbeque party today and she kindly invited me. Of course, I couldn't refuse because she thought I needed a time out and be surrounded by friends for me to feel less lonely – at least.

Finally, the door opened and a smiling Jenna greeted me and moved to hug me. "Hey, Danny! How have you been?"

"Better."

She gently pulled away from me as a sad smile crossed her face. "Really, how are you?"

"You already know my answer, Jenna." I heaved a sigh, trying to avoid looking at her eyes.

"It'll get better someday." She took my hands and slightly squeezed it for my reassurance. "Trust me."

"I know. I know it will but…" I pressed my lips into a thin line and sighed. "Right now, I'm just trying to hold on and be strong."

"If you need anything, we're here for you, Danny."

"I know…" A small smile tugged on to my lips. "But, I'll get through this somehow. For now, can we please not talk about it?"

"All right, but just know we'll always be here," she said and I just nodded in return. "Come on."

Jenna and I went to the kitchen as Elena prepared the table. Once she saw me, she came over and embrace me. "Danny, you came."

"Yeah, couldn't decline Jenna."

"Well, I'm just that good at persuading people," Jenna proudly said, making us chuckle.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked as Jenna got some plates from the cupboard.

"Can you put these plates on the table?" Jenna handed me the said items.

"Sure." Taking the plates, I began to place them on the table as Jenna and Elena talked.

"Thanks for letting me invite Caroline. She could use a day of distraction."

"Well, she's not the plus one I'm worried about. Why is Damon coming?" Jenna had a frown on her face as she raised a brow at her niece.

"Because Alaric is a pity taker. Come on Jenna, be nice."

"I'll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off you." Jenna backed up, which made me chuckle.

"Good news! I found the shot glasses!" a familiar masculine voice said. I turned around to check who it was and I was greeted by a grinning Mason. "Hey Danny!" he greeted and gave me a bear hug while still holding the shots.

"Hi, Mason." I grinned while returning the hug.

"That would be my exit." Elena then went out of the kitchen.

"Since I don't want to see you guys drown yourselves in alcohol, I'll also be taking my leave. I'll talk to you later, Mason." I smiled as he nodded his head, grinning.

"Yup! Talk to you later."

Going to the front porch, I sat down on one of the chairs as Elena was on her phone, probably calling Stefan since he wasn't here.

"Hey. Just checking in. Did you get my message about Jenna's barbecue? Call me when you can." A disappointed sigh escaped her lips as she hung up her phone.

"Still nothing?" I asked as she shook her head with a frown on her face.

"Is that Stefan?" Caroline came to the front porch, holding a bowl of chips. "Hey, Danny!"

"Hey, Care." I then reached for some chips when Caroline offered me some.

Elena sighed again as she looked at her phone with a frown still on her face. "Yeah, he hasn't called me back. I'm trying to decide if I should be worried."

"I'm sure he's fine." Caroline ate another chip.

I reached for more chips as I added, "Maybe he's just busy doing an errand."

"God! I cannot stop eating. Stefan says it's a great way to sublimate the cravings. It's horrible just fighting the urge for blood every minute of every day."

"I know that. Stefan really hates that part of himself." Elena looked at Caroline in understanding.

"Yeah and he hates that you're a constant temptation."

Elena looked at our bubbly friend with knitted brows and asked, "He said that?"

"The desire to rip out your jugular every time he's with you? Trust me, it's there. It's why I had to break up with Matt." Caroline shrugged as she continued munching on her chips.

"Hey! Food's ready, come get it," Ric told us before going back inside.

"Finally, I'm starving." Caroline immediately stood up while I shook my head in amusement, following her into the dining area. She really never failed to amuse me and that was what I liked about Caroline.

So far, lunch was very pleasant and laughter could be heard in the dining room. I really have to thank Jenna for this later because at least now, I felt a bit better. After lunch, Damon suggested that we play Pictionary in the living room and everyone agreed to it. Something was definitely weird and I was sure that Damon was up to something. The entire time, all of the things that he drew were about werewolves.

Was he really this reckless? He was provoking Mason at any way possible and we couldn't afford to make him our enemy since he was a huge threat during the full moon. Damon was currently drawing a wolf with a tutu while I watched the others in amusement.

"Dress! Ballerina!" Jenna shouted, trying to figure out what the picture was.

Caroline pointed at the drawing. "Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!"

"No, no." Damon gestured them to keep going. A laugh escaped my lips as they attempted to guess whatever Damon's drawing was.

"A dog! Hound-dog!" Jenna yelled again, making me bite my lip to stop myself from laughing too much.

"Dances with wolves," Mason coolly answered as Caroline and the others quickly turned their heads to him all at the same time.

"Mason wins… again." Damon looked at him in a way that just confirmed my suspicions.

"How is that a wolf?" Jenna pointed at the drawing in an exasperated tone, making me burst into laughter. Damon then went to the kitchen as I slowly stood up and followed him.

"Aunt Jenna is getting tipsy." Damon smirked at Elena, who was currently preparing the pie.

"Will you stop plying her with alcohol?" Elena sighed as she placed the pie down.

"I want her to like me."

"How is operation Lockwood?"

"He's my new BFF," Damon whispered to her ear as she fidgeted away.

I just rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah right. You're an idiot to actually think that because he clearly knows something is on."

Damon glared at me and mocked, "And, little witchy knows?"

My eyes quickly narrowed in annoyance because of this irritable vampire. "For a hundred-seventy-year-old vampire, you are definitely stupid for falling into his trap like a mindless idiot. I suggest you work on your concept of stupidity and subtlety. You definitely need it."

The vampire quickly glared the daggers at me and it was met by one of my own as I said, "Just hope your idiotic plan won't come back biting you in the arse."

Before Damon could say any snide remark, Jenna came into the kitchen with a smile on her face. "There you are. Isn't this fun?"

A smile quickly replaced Damon's annoyed look a while ago. "Yes, thank you so much for inviting me."

"Did I have a choice?" Jenna looked at him in frustration, making me bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"I know what you must think about me."

A snort accidentally came out of my lips as I grabbed a glass of juice. "Yeah, a douchebag who has his head far up his arse."

Damon narrowed his eyes in annoyance while Jenna just laughed out loud, not even noticing the glares Damon was sending me. Smirking, I shrugged my shoulders and brought the glass to my lips.

"I really love you right now." Jenna huffed to calm herself as she wiped some tears in her eyes.

"Love you too, Jenna." I laughed, shaking my head in amusement.

She then turned to Damon and said, "For your information, you don't know a thing of how I think of you. You have never dated you; I have dated many yous."

"Well, I'm a work in progress." Damon's attention was diverted when Elena handed Jenna a cake knife from a set.

"These are fancy." Damon moved to look at the set of knives.

"Thanks. My mother's silver set," Jenna replied as she prepared the pie. When Elena heard this, she looked at Damon, who took a knife from the set.

Knew it. Great, just great. My eyes narrowed as I just literally saw a light bulb lit inside his head. My brows furrowed in annoyance because this idiot of a vampire just got another stupid plan and never listened to a word I said. Elena then went somewhere with a phone in her hand, probably going to try and contact Stefan again. Damon took the pie and placed a cake knife in a piece of the cut pie before going over to the table and placing it in front of Mason.

"Mason, why don't you start us off?" Damon smirked at the Lockwood, making me roll my eyes once more. I closely watched their exchange as I made the coffee that Jenna asked me to make.

"Sure." Mason turned the plate and took an uncut piece of the pie with his hands, deliberately avoiding the knife. "I apologize, I'm an animal." He smiled, noticing the looks that Damon and Ric gave him.

"Idiot," I softly muttered, knowing that Damon would hear it. Sure enough, the vampire smirked at me in triumph, which made me want to bang my head onto the countertop. This dumbass really had no clue that Mason was clearly messing with him to the point that he thought I was talking about Mason. Mason was just feeding his ego that silver worked on werewolves but they actually didn't.

"So, Mason, you and Jenna never dated?" Chuckling, Ric changed the topic.

Shaking his head, Mason grinned and teased Jenna, "She was always lost in Logan Fell land."

"My first mistake. Mason was a catch. He had girls lining up." Jenna placed the cups of coffee on the table.

"Hey, I'm just gonna look for Elena and Caroline," I smiled, telling Jenna.

"Sure. I'll handle these." She smiled as I left the kitchen to find those two.

Caroline and Elena were in the living room as the latter fixed the things used for the Pictionary a while ago. I smiled and greeted, "Here you two are."

Elena took the paper from the easel and turned to me and Caroline. "Would I be the worst friend in the world if I abandoned you two and went to Stefan's?"

"You want to leave?" Caroline tensed a bit, which made me discreetly raise a brow at her. She was acting really weird.

"It's just that he hasn't gotten back to me and I'm starting to get this bad feeling."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Elena," Caroline told her in a slightly panicky voice.

"Damon's got it under control here."

"Take it from me, there's nothing worse than a clingy girlfriend." She chuckled nervously. Yup, she was acting weird by making up all of these excuses.

"I'm not being clingy. I'm just concerned. You understand, right?" Elena looked at her with knitted brows.

"I think it's fine if you leave the two of us to check up on him. Considering, he hasn't called you after all the countless voicemails you sent him." I shrugged and fixed the mess on the coffee table as Elena smiled at me.

"How about I drive you?" Caroline suddenly suggested.

"Yeah, okay. That'll be great, thanks." Elena smiled at Caroline before turning to me. "Would you like to come too, Danny?"

"Nah, I think I'm going home in a bit." I stopped whatever I was doing and smiled at her.

"Are you sure? Jenna wouldn't mind you staying late."

"It's fine. I'm good. Now stop worrying about me and go get your epic love." I smirked and this caused Elena to blush a bit. "Say hi to him for me."

She shook her head and smiled. "All right, we'll see you later."

After those two left, I went back to the dining room and they still weren't done chatting. We hung out for a while more until it was already late. Mason said it was time for him to go so we went to the front door to send him off.

"No more takers for drinks at the grill? It's like I am with a bunch of adults here." Mason teased Jenna, who just laughed.

"I prefer the term _role model_." Jenna smiled at him.

"Okay. Well, thanks for having me. It was awesome." Mason then hugged Jenna before turning to Ric. "Alaric, catch that game next week?"

"Yeah, I look forward to it," Ric replied as Damon came to us.

"It's really nice to see you again, Danny. Would you like to grab some coffee sometime? Just to catch up with each other." Mason grinned at me as a smile made its way on my face.

"Are you actually asking her out on a date?" Jenna cut in with a teasing smirk.

This caused a light tint of pink to dust Mason's cheeks but he quickly composed himself before anyone could notice. However, I noticed and it made me blush a bit too.

"It's just old friends hanging out together, Jenna." Mason reason with Jenna but she wasn't buying it. She still had that smirk on her face.

"It's good to see you too, Mason. I would love to catch up with you after all these years of not seeing each other." I smiled at the Lockwood and it just made Jenna squeal like a teenage girl. A sigh escaped my lips as I thought, _Oh God,_ _I just dug my own grave._

"Well, see you next time, Danny!" Mason hugged me as I returned it.

"Yeah, see you."

Mason turned to Damon and gave him a nod before leaving.

"You know, I should probably head out too." Damon took Jenna's hand. "Jenna, you are a wonderful hostess." He then kissed it but she was clearly irritated about it.

"And, you are a terrible artist." Jenna quickly removed her hand from Damon's grasp.

"Is that the only thing that makes me terrible?"

"I'm still deciding."

"Good enough for me." Damon then turned to me and took my hand too before I could move it out of his reach.

"It was nice spending a day with you, Danny. I hope we can do this again." He smirked and kissed the back of my hand. That triumphant smirk on his face really annoyed me and before I could remove my hand, Jenna turned into mother hen mode and pulled me away from Damon.

"Keep your paws off of Danny." She glared at Damon, which he just ignored.

I rolled my eyes as my voice dripped with sarcasm. "I wish I could say the same."

"Fantastic." Smirking, he shrugged before turning to Ric. "Alaric, let's not catch that game next week."

Once Damon left, I turned to Jenna to say goodbye too but she just decided to tease me again.

"Someone's got an admirer. Good choice accepting Mason's offer."

Another sigh escaped my lips. "Jenna, we're just friends. Besides, he's twice my age."

"Who cares. He likes you and very much might I add." She teased once more and before she could say another word, I cut her off discreetly. Ric noticed this and bit his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"Hey, Jenna. I think I'm going home too. It's getting late. Thank you for inviting me today. It was lovely and it made me feel better."

"Are you sure? You can stay for a while more," Jenna said, not noticing my interruption. "You can also sleep over here, we wouldn't mind. I'm sure Jeremy and Elena would be happy too."

"No, it's okay, Jenna. I also need to go on with life and buy stuff for the house."

"All right. Be careful on your way home, okay? Be wary of Damon Salvatore." She looked at me with a very serious face on, making me burst into laughter.

"I will. Bye Jenna, bye Ric." I gave them a hug.

"Bye," they both replied before I went out of the house.

Arriving at the grocery, I quickly went down to business and bought all of the stuff I needed. Something was really strange since the moment I left the Gilbert house. I didn't know why but I felt like I was being watched. My uneasiness pushed me to quickly get all the things needed so I could finally be in the comforts of my home. Once I was done, I placed the groceries inside the car before all of a sudden, I felt chills run down my spine.

"What do you want?" I was controlling my temper, gritting my teeth. "Katherine."

"Or, should I say Katerina?" I turned around to face the psychotic lunatic.

"Just wanted to see my favorite Sullivan witch." She shot me a fake, angelic smile. "Sorry about Agatha by the way. It would've all been easier if she just agreed." Her once angelic smile turned into a sinister smirk.

The next thing I knew I snapped. Magic surged through my body as my emotions got the best of me. Focusing on Katherine, I gave her aneurysms causing her to fall to her knees and let out an earsplitting scream. Katherine tried to fight back but I just raised my hand and made her blood boil. She lay on the concrete ground in pain.

Slowly walking towards her, I glared at the vampire as she looked at me with fear in her eyes. "You may have lived for five hundred or more years but you're nothing. You think you can just wreak havoc whenever you want? Well, think again because I can just set you on fire right now and there would be one less parasite in the world.

"You've been hurting the people I care about since you came. But, you made a wrong move dragging my grandmother into your freak show. You just made an enemy out of someone you shouldn't have angered." I hissed with my voice full of venom. She managed to look at me with fear in her eyes while screaming due to the pain.

"Try doing anything again, then, this is only the beginning." With the flick of my wrist, Katherine quickly fell onto the floor with a snapped neck.

As I drove home, I tried to cool myself down after that episode but nothing was working. There was just this strong urge for me to break and destroy anything. Once I got home, I left the groceries in the kitchen and headed straight to the training room to blow some steam off. A punching bag was already hanging on the hook and with gloves on, I started my violent assault on the poor thing. I punched and kicked the punching bag like there was no tomorrow.

As another punch caused the punching bag to sway violently, my encounter with Katherine flashed in my head once more. I was right. She was the reason why my grandmother wasn't with me anymore. Once she mentioned about it, something in me just snapped and I couldn't control myself anymore. My anger got the best of me and it controlled me like some puppet. That never happened before and it was so stupid of me to let it happen. Katherine might retaliate because of what I did.

Out of frustration and anger, I sent another strong punch to the bag and in the process, I accidentally lost control of my magic because of my overwhelming emotions at the moment. The punching bag flew across the room, causing a medium sized cabinet to hit the wall before falling over. A groan escaped my lips once I saw the mess I made. The cabinet was broken and its contents were on the floor.

"Isn't this just the luckiest day of my life?" I groaned once more and walked over to the broken cabinet.

Removing my gloves, I started cleaning up and gathering the things on the floor. Then, I stood up to put some of these books on top of the nearby table but something caught my attention and stopped me in my tracks. My eyes squinted at the chipped wall and that part was made out of what seemed like plywood. That was very weird since I was sure the walls were made out of concrete. Placing the books down, I stood up and knocked on the wall and to my surprise, it was hollow.

My brows quickly knitted as I looked at it. Why the hell would this be hollow? With my curiosity urging me, I kicked the plywood and tried my best to remove it. Once again, I was surprised at what was in front of me.

"How many freaking hidden rooms are there in this house?"

I scrunched my face in frustration as my hand reached for the knob, turning it in the process. However, it was locked and once I looked at the key hole, I knew exactly what the key was. I quickly grabbed my bag and got the old key that my grandmother left me. True enough, when I inserted the key and turned it, the knob turned and the door opened.

Entering the room, I opened the light and I was once again surprised at what I saw. Books, grimoires, talismans, and other magical objects were there and not just that, there was also a big chest. Okay, this was all so strange. Moving to the big chest, I knelt down in front of it and opened it. A gasp escaped my lips as my eyes widened at the contents of the chest.

"What on earth…?" Inside the chest, there were a variety of weapons specifically against vampires. It had wooden stakes, crossbows, bow, guns, wooden bullets and others.

"This is definitely getting weirder and weirder by the second." I picked up a crossbow and examined it.

Grandma never mentioned any of this to me. Why though? Glancing around the small room, I noticed a small cabinet at the corner, which just piqued my curiosity. I moved in front of the cabinet, which had a lock on it.

"Okay. Now, what do you have in store for me?" Raising my hand, I focused on the lock and broke it using my magic. Opening the cabinet, I found a small chest inside and a small card on top of it.

Taking the two items, I looked at the card and tilted my head in confusion and curiosity. Other than my name and the from whom it was, there was nothing else written on it.

 _To Danielle. From K.O.S. & S.O.S.,_ it said.

It was from the same person, who gave me my necklace, but I didn't know who the other one was. All of this mystery and curiosity were not good for me at all. Another sigh escaped my lips as I placed the card down and focused on the small chest.

As my hand touched the lid, I tried to open it but I couldn't. There was no keyhole or any lock, only a seal. My guess was this chest was sealed by some spell. Closing my eyes, I muttered a spell to unlock it but nothing happened. I tried again but still, nothing happened. After a few more tries, I gave up because I was tired and I was just wasting my energy.

My curiosity was definitely at its peak now and it was killing me that I couldn't do anything to figure all of this out. The spell used on it was very strong and more complex than the normal ones and I have never encountered such spell. Whoever cast a spell on this chest most likely didn't want anyone finding out what was inside it.

 _I'll just have to try again tomorrow and I won't stop until I find out what's inside of it._

* * *

Hi guys! I'm finally back again! I'm sorry for the very long delay but here's a new chapter. ;) I've changed a lot of things in this chapter (if you guys read the old version). She found the chests in a secret room in the house rather than in Duke. I just found that part really weird. Anyways, I'm going to post chapters more often now since my term break just started! So, until next time guys! ;)

\- Sylkes

* * *

 ***Adela:** Thank you so much! I hope you like this new chapter! ;)  
 ***FlowerChild23:** Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy chapter 8! ;)


	10. Chapter 9

**Danielle**

It was Mystic Falls Historical Society Volunteer Day and the Mystic Falls Public Park was packed with people. Caroline, Elena, and I were walking towards a veranda to paint it and as we walked, Caroline talked about her problems with Sheriff Forbes.

"So suddenly, she's in the running for mother of the year just when I'm trying to avoid her the most." Caroline heaved a sigh when she noticed that Elena wasn't even paying attention. "I'm babbling, you don't want to hear all this."

"Oh no, sorry. Then what happened?" Elena snapped out of it and glanced at Caroline.

"Well, I was a bitch which is part of the course with us. So, how are things with you and Stefan? Anything?"

"No, not since the fight. He's been pushing me away because he thinks that Katherine might get jealous enough to hurt me. I just don't know how to change his mind."

Caroline stopped painting and went down to Elena's level. "You said that Katherine's dangerous. Maybe he's got a point."

I bit my lip while continuing to paint. Okay, this was kind of weird considering the fact that I just knocked the lunatic out last night and threatened to make her life a living hell.

"Yeah, I know that she's dangerous and I know that he's just trying to protect me but it feels like giving up and I just…"

"Just what?" I stopped painting and turned to her.

"I just thought that we were stronger than that," Elena answered glumly and Caroline and I could only give her sympathetic smiles.

"Well, I think that we should just take precautions because I'm sure that lunatic is somewhere out there waiting for the kill." I shrugged and sighed while painting a part of the veranda.

"True." Caroline heaved another sigh before she suddenly nudged me. I raised a brow at her and she only nudged her head towards Elena and Stefan as an answer.

"Oh, oh." I looked back and forth between the two love birds as Elena glanced at me. "Longing looks are being exchanged."

"I'm going to talk to him." Dropping the paint brush, Elena stood up and proceeded to go to Stefan.

"No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea." Caroline tried to stop her but was just ignored. Caroline turned to me for help but I just shrugged my shoulders, knowing that I couldn't possibly stop her as well.

"Do you think they'll be fine?" she asked and I could only shrug my shoulders.

"I don't know."

"What's her problem?" Damon came to us as he watched Elena walked towards to Stefan.

"Don't worry about it," I answered without looking at him.

Damon then turned to Caroline. "Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?"

"Don't worry about it." Caroline then went back to painting as Damon went beside her.

I continued painting and looked at my two companions. Both of them definitely weren't discreet about eavesdropping. Caroline wasn't even painting and Damon was just staring at nothing. Suddenly, they both pretended that they were doing something and not listening to the couple's conversation. I looked at Elena and Stefan to see them looking at us. After a while of observing, Elena left Stefan looking upset.

"Relationships are about communication." Damon smirked at us.

"Shut it, arsehat." I rolled my eyes and left to follow Elena as Caroline followed behind me. There was still no sign of Elena as we searched for her.

Caroline heaved a sigh and asked, "Where could she possibly be?"

"I don't know but something is definitely up with those two." I glanced at her as we continued to look for our friend. After a while, we finally found her sitting on a rock beside the stream.

"Are you okay?" I then sat beside her while she tore the grass on her hands.

"No."

Caroline then tried to cheer her up. "You know, maybe it's for the best."

"It's not for the best, Caroline. None of this is for the best," Elena snapped at her before sighing in defeat. "I'm sorry, okay? I… I don't mean to take it out on you. You're just being a good friend."

"No, I'm not. I'm not being a good friend at all." Caroline looked away, making me look at her with knitted brows. What did she mean by that? Suddenly, Caroline had a confused expression on her face. I looked at the same direction she was looking at and I saw Sheriff Forbes on the phone while leaving the park.

"Is she leaving? Where is my mom going?" Caroline then stood up and went to her mom. Once Elena and I got to Caroline, she looked really annoyed as Sheriff Forbes left.

"What's going on?" Elena looked at the sheriff's fleeting figure before raising a brow at Caroline.

"I don't know. Something's up. Come on." Caroline started walking and led us into a hill.

"Caroline, where are you going? What's going on?" I asked the blonde vampire.

"I need to be able to hear better."

"Hear what?" Elena tilted her head in confusion.

Caroline closed her eyes and concentrated. "Something's wrong."

Elena and I exchanged nervous glances as the former said, "Caroline…"

"Shh…" Caroline hushed her and after a while, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh God..."

I looked at Caroline with worry. "What is it?"

"Stefan and Damon." Caroline then quickly run off to the woods.

"What?" Elena's face scrunched in confusion as we followed Caroline. As we got deeper into the woods there was still no sign of the brothers and then suddenly, Caroline stopped and observed our surroundings.

"What is it?" I glanced at the vampire as she looked around us.

"They've been here." Bending down, Caroline touched the leaves of a plant and there was blood.

Caroline glanced at us and this just made me and Elena tense up. Suddenly, the rustling of leaves echoed and a familiar voice questioned us, "What are you three doing out here?"

"Have you seen Stefan?" Elena asked Mason, who was intently staring at Caroline.

"Yeah, Elena. I've seen him, seen Damon too."

"Where are they?" she asked once more.

"You don't need me for that. I'll let your friend here sniff them out." He looked over to Caroline. "Does your mother know what you are? I'm happy to tell her."

Out of anger, Caroline went to attack Mason but he caught Elena and strangled her from behind. This made both Caroline and I stop while Elena just looked at us terrified.

"Don't be stupid! Necks snap easily around here," Mason hissed as Elena struggled to get out of his hold.

"Mason, please let Elena go. There has to be another way. No one has to get hurt." I tried to calm the werewolf because one wrong move he might do something to Elena.

He just looked at me with a sorry expression saying that there was no other way. "There is no other way, Danny."

Caroline glared at the Lockwood. "I can take you."

"Want to bet?" Mason challenged, turning to Care.

"Yeah. I do." I glared at him and sent him aneurysms, which made him let go of Elena and clutch his head. This gave Caroline time to push him away and pin him to a tree.

"I told you." Caroline smirked at him and kicked him, causing him to double over. She kicked Mason's stomach with so much force that he was thrown against a tree and fell on the ground.

"Come on." Caroline told us as we headed to the place where Damon and Stefan were held. All of a sudden, Caroline stopped holding her hand up.

"What is it?" I stopped in my tracks.

"Caroline. Caroline, what is it?" Elena repeated, looking at the blonde in worry.

"My mom, she's killing them."

" _What_?" Elena started to go inside but was stopped by Caroline. "We have to stop her!"

"No, I can't. Elena, she's going to find out about me." Caroline did her best to stop her but Elena didn't listen and quickly went inside.

"Elena!" I called her but she ignored me too. Turning to Caroline, I told her, "I'm going in. You stay here."

"But, Danny-!"

"Stay!" I quickly went in as Elena's voice rang in my ears.

"You can't kill them. I'm not going to let you."

"Sheriff, please stop this!" I went inside the cellar and tried to reason with her.

"What the hell are you two doing?" she yelled at us as the deputy holding Elena grabbed me as well. I was about to fight back when out of the blue, the door closed on its own.

"What was that?" The deputy let us go and I took this chance to grab Elena and drag her with me to the side.

"Who else is with you?" Sheriff demanded as a blur came in. Caroline bit one of the deputies as the other one shot at her. However, the deputy in her hold took the bullets for her and then, she punched the other deputy before hiding in the shadows.

"Hi mom," Caroline softly uttered as she came out from the shadows with her face smeared with blood. Sheriff Forbes' face contorted with horror and fright as she looked at Caroline.

After a while, Damon and Stefan woke up. Damon was currently feeding on one of the deputies before he checked on Stefan. Elena sat with Stefan checking if he was better and all right.

"You need to drink some deputy blood," Damon told Stefan.

"No. I'm going to be fine. It's just going to take a little bit longer." Stefan shook his head while taking a breath.

"Damon's right you know. If there's ever time to break your diet…" Caroline agreed with Damon but Elena sternly cut her off.

"He said he didn't want it, okay?"

"This is a most unfortunate situation. Two deputies dead and you." Damon turned to Sheriff Forbes and said, "What am I going to do with you?"

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Caroline asked her but she didn't answer. "Mom? Mom? Please. Look, I know that we don't get along and that you hate me but I'm your daughter and you'll do this for me, right? Mom, please. He will kill you."

A frown made its way on my face as I watched their exchange. Sheriff Forbes looked at her daughter with tears in her eyes. "Then kill me."

"No!" Caroline cried out.

"I can't take this. Kill me now."

"But you were going drag it out so painfully." Damon caught Sheriff Forbes' arms.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Caroline begged.

"Damon, don't!" I narrowed my eyes at the older Salvatore, warning him not to do anything to the sheriff.

"Damon, please!" Elena told him as well.

"Relax guys. No one is killing anybody." Damon looked at us and then, turned back to the sheriff. "You're my friend." He then looked at the corpses of the deputies lying on the ground before saying, "We've got to clean this up."

~~~~~X~~~~~

Damon and I watched Sheriff Forbes talk to her colleague on the phone as she came up with an excuse for her absence in work for the next few days. We planned on waiting for the vervain to get out of her system before compelling her to forget.

"A stomach bug. Yeah, it came on fast. I'll definitely be out tomorrow…"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Damon warned, making her look at him.

"…or longer. I'll text you. Yeah. Good night." Sheriff Forbes hung up and handed the phone to Damon.

"Thank you." He took the phone. "It's not exactly the Ritz, but it's secure. Brought you a good thread count. And once the vervain's worked its way out of your system, I will compel you. You will forget everything and you will be a free woman."

Caroline, Stefan, and Elena arrived outside of the cellar and didn't enter to listen to the conversation.

"Can you keep Caroline far away from me, please? I don't wanna see her."

"She's your daughter, Liz." I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Not anymore," she replied without looking at me. "My daughter's gone."

"You have no idea how wrong you are about that." Damon glanced at Caroline before she quickly left. After that, Damon also left and I finally broke my silence.

"She's still your daughter, you know? No matter how many times you turn the world upside down, she's still Caroline Forbes, your daughter. She's the same Caroline, who we all know, and the only difference is that she's stronger now." I looked at Liz as she avoided meeting my eyes.

"You were scared to death when you almost lost her a few weeks back, remember? She's right here, Liz. I know it's hard to accept of what she has become but it already happened and nothing can be done to change it. Please, at least give her the chance to explain herself because she never wanted any of this."

Taking a deep breath, I thickly swallowed and continued, "Five months ago, I lost both of my parents in a car accident and then two weeks ago, I lost the only family I have left. I'm never gonna have a chance to see them again and they won't have a chance to watch me grow up like how they would always dream and tell me. I'm never going to feel their warmth again. Life is short, Liz. So just a word of advice, cherish your time with your daughter while you still can. Because one day, they're gone before you know it and you'll just be left with emptiness and regret."

Liz didn't look at me but I knew that my message got through somehow. She avoided my eyes but I still noticed it. Her eyes were glistening with tears and she tried her best to hide it. With nothing else to say, I quickly left the cellar and took deep breaths to calm myself. Once the urge to cry was gone, I went to the parlor, only to see Caroline staring into nothingness.

"Hi, Care."

"Hi, Danny." Caroline looked up to me so I could see her tear-stained face. "Thank you for what you said down there."

"It's the truth." I gave her a small smile. "You want me to take you home?"

"I can't go home."

"Why not?" I settled myself in front of her.

"Because I'm scared."

"Why are you scared? Caroline, you can talk to me."

"Katherine's going to be there and she's going to want me to tell her everything that happened today. She told me I had to spy on you and Elena and report back to her."

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm not mad at you, okay?" I gently smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "Who did she threaten?"

"Matt, she threatened Matt and I'm so scared of her Danny! I am so scared of her."

Sitting beside Caroline, I leaned her head on my shoulder and soothingly rubbed her back. "I'm here, Care. Everything will be fine."

"No, nothing will be fine with her still out there. Everyone's in danger and she's always one step ahead."

"No Care, we will be fine. She may seem unstoppable but everyone has a weakness. We just have to find hers and use it against her. For now, stop thinking about it." I said but she was still not convinced. "How about this, I'll sleep over in your house and put a spell in it so that she can never enter again?"

"All right." She hesitated, not truly believing it. It seemed like I had to take this to a whole new level.

"Are you really Caroline Forbes? You know, the Caroline I know is what I would like to describe as a crazy lady with an obsession for planning parties." I shuddered in a mocking fear. "She'd bark at people and tell them, _Move people! Don't laze around and start working! This event should be perfect!_ " I mimicked her high-pitched voice whenever she was angry.

A wide grin finally adorned her face as she burst into laughter and argued with a high-pitched voice, " _My voice is definitely not like that!_ "

" _It is!_ " I laughed and grinned, pointing at her. "See! You're doing it again!"

"No, I'm not!" She was still laughing hard while I smiled at her.

"Now there's that smile." I grinned while she just looked at me. "I'll look after you and I'll try my very best to keep Katherine away from you even if it meant I'll have to hurt her or get hurt myself. I'd do it for you because you're my best friend." I could see her eyes brimming with tears and she then hugged me.

After a moment of silence, she hugged me tighter and finally murmured, "Thank you, Danny, for everything. I don't know what I'd do right now without you."

"You don't have to tell me. I know I'm the best." I playfully grinned, which earned a playful eye roll from the bubbly blonde.

"You just had to ruin the moment."

I raised my hands mockingly in surrender. "Hey, I can't help it if it's true."

"Yeah, right." She playfully rolled her eyes again. "Your ego is getting bigger by the second, Danny."

Exaggerating a gasp, I placed my hand above my heart in mock hurt. "Caroline Forbes! How can you say that to your _beloved best friend_?"

She raised a brow at me and said, "Who said we're best friends?"

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "And here I thought we were having a sentimental moment between BFFs."

Seeing the pout on my face, Caroline burst into laughter as she hugged me. " _Just kidding!_ Love you, Danny!"

"You better!" A smile made its way on my face as I playfully glared at her. She laughed out loud again and I couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Love you too, Care Bear." This was one of those moments that just made me forget about the threats and problems that weighed on our shoulders. I just wanted them to last but I knew it was too naïve and foolish of me to think that. After all, it was only beginning.

* * *

 **Katherine**

After what felt like a decade of waiting in the car, Mason finally came as he sat in the passenger's seat.

"I've been waiting." I turned to him, waiting for some sort of an explanation.

Mason moved closer and tried to kiss me but I held my hand up to stop him. I then asked in an annoyed tone, "What was that stunt today that you pulled with Damon and Stefan Salvatore?"

"I thought you would be happy about that." He looked at me with knitted brows.

"I told you to stay away from them."

"Why do you even care?"

"I don't want you to get distracted. I need you to find the moonstone and you almost put my Sullivan witch in danger. She's my biggest asset and I need her safe."

A smirk made its way on his face as I tilted my head and looked for answers. "You got it?"

"I got it and as for Danny, she's fine. She didn't get hurt." He smirked and I couldn't help but grab his neck and crash my lips to his. Just a little bit more and I would finally be free.

* * *

Hi guys! Here's a new chapter! ;) Thank you so much for the reviews and follows! I'm so happy that a lot of people are liking the rewritten version so far. :D I've changed a lot of things in this chapter too and I added that cute moment between Danny and Caroline. Because, they're brotp. ;) Until next time guys! ;)

\- Sylkes

* * *

 ***Adela:** Thank you so much for reading! :) I really appreciate your reviews for each of the chapters I posted. Hope you like this new one as well! ;)  
 ***FlowerChild23:** Thank you so much for reading and for the review! :) She may regret it but that's gonna be revealed all in due time. ;) I did change quite a lot in this rewritten version. ;)


	11. Chapter 10

**Danielle**

I was currently fixing the candle holders for tomorrow's Masquerade ball while waiting for Bonnie to come back with the box of candles that she went to get.

"Here are the candles." Bonnie placed it beside me.

"Thanks." I smiled at her.

"You're here." Elena came to us and smiled. "Hey, Danny."

"Hey." I smiled back while getting some of the candles from the box.

"I'm here," Bonnie answered her before glancing around the yard.

"Caroline is not coming. I told you." Elena took some candles out of the box and started helping me put them in the candle holders.

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. "Just making sure."

Sighing, I glanced at the Bennett witch while putting another candle in the holder. "You know, eventually, you're going to have to talk to her."

"Could you make it a little less obvious that both of you are on her side?"

"There are no sides, Bonnie." Elena heaved a sigh as she turned to our witch friend.

"Come on! Since Caroline became a vampire, we barely see each other. Losing Caroline was bad enough. I didn't think I'd lose you two too."

"Come with me," Elena told Bonnie and glanced at me, earning a nod from me.

"Where?"

"Not here, some place quiet. We have to talk." Elena held her hand out while Bonnie took it and they walked away. After fixing the candles, I was finding my way to my next task only to be stopped by someone I didn't know. An unfamiliar person stood in front of me and God, please help me. I had this strong urge to wipe that flirtatious smile off his face.

"May I help you?" I tried to be nice despite wanting to just roll my eyes.

"I haven't seen you much around here."

"I just moved here and now, if you'll excuse me, I still have things to do." I tried to move past him several times but he just kept on blocking my way. I held the urge to groan and just snap at this annoying guy in front of me.

"I'm Jake by the way. May I know the pretty lady's name?" He smiled flirtatiously again.

"I don't care. Now move." I glared at the man and tried to move past him but he blocked me again.

"Feisty. Come on now, just tell me."

"Go back to your girlfriend, who has been glaring daggers at me." I glanced at the blonde girl, glowering at me from a distance.

Jake glanced at the direction of the girl before turning back to me and brushing it off. "She's not my girlfriend. She just has this crush on me since we were young. Would you like to have a few drinks with me after this?"

That was it. Someone had to teach this douche a lesson and I was so up for it. "I'm not interested in your annoying and outdated flirting and pick up lines. _So, go back to wherever the hell you came from and get out of the way._ I have much better things to do." I pushed past him as he looked at me dumbstruck. God, I hated douchebags like him and now, I was in a foul mood. Finally, I arrived my destination without being pestered and I started to sort and clean these glasses.

"Hey, Danny." I looked up to see Stefan smiling at me.

"Oh hi, Stefan." I smiled in return.

"Need any help?"

"Sure, could you help me sort and clean these?" I smiled at him and he nodded and started to help.

"So, how's your day?" he asked, placing a glass down.

"Annoying." I heaved a sigh while placing a glass down. "My mood has been dampened because of some douchebag, who thinks he's the _king of the world._ "

Stefan raised a brow at me, looking amused. "Who?"

"Some random guy named Jake, who just couldn't take the hint." I roughly scrubbed the glass before placing it down on the rack.

"What did he do?" Stefan asked, clearly amused by my facial expressions.

"He kept on flirting with me while there was this girl glaring at me. When I asked about it, he just said the poor girl had an obsession with him. _Like who does he think he is_? _The world's most wanted guy?_ _In his dreams_!"

Stefan couldn't hold it in and laughed as I scrunched my face in annoyance. "It's not funny, Stefan! _It's annoying!_ He even dared to flirt with me with his outdated and annoying pick-up lines!" Stefan still kept laughing, making me pout. " _Stefan!_ "

"Sorry! It's just really funny watching you rant, Danny." He huffed and finally stopped but he still had that teasing smile on his face. "Okay, I'm good."

"Really?" I gave me him a blank look. "Because your face tells me it's about to turn to another shade of red from laughing too much."

"Okay, okay. Seriously, I'm good now." Stefan bit his lip to stop himself from bursting into laughter as my blank expression never left my face.

"You're having way too much fun, Salvatore."

He snorted but quickly held it in. "Come on, Danny. Stop making me laugh."

"I'm not even trying!" I placed another glass down and turned to him. "Okay, it's not my fault that I'm an amusing human being but seriously, it's not funny."

His smile just grew as he raised his hand in surrender. "Okay, okay."

A smirk made its way on my face as I glanced at Stefan. "But hey, at least I got you out of your broody self."

"Really, Danny?" Stefan gave me a blank look as I just gave him an innocent smile. Sighing, he just shook his head with a smile on his face while I laughed at him. My smile quickly turned into a frown when I saw who was in front of us.

"Hey, Stefan, Danny." Mason's voice practically dripped with bitterness and confusion as he came our way while carrying a box.

"Hey, Mason," Stefan replied while on the other hand, I just ignored him and continued doing my work.

Mason placed the box down on a table and he was shocked to see Stefan alive. "Wasn't expecting you here or anywhere."

"Yeah, I had this little accident but I'm fine now."

"What did you do to Sheriff Forbes?" Mason went closer and stopped in front of us.

"Oh, she's fine too but from now on, you'll have to do your own dirty work."

"Not a problem." He then glanced at me and opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off.

" _Don't you even dare._ " I glared at him while showing him my level of patience for him with my thumb and index finger. "Because I'm this close to smacking you in the head right now for what you did the other day."

He looked at me with wide eyes while Stefan, on the other hand, bit his lip again because he was having a hard time trying not to laugh.

"You can laugh, Stefan," I mumbled and glanced beside me as Stefan started to chuckle.

Mason quickly left us and accidentally ran into Bonnie in the process. "Excuse me."

With a strange look spread across her face, Bonnie continued to watch Mason as he walked away. I looked at Stefan, who finally stopped laughing, as we shared a knowing glance.

"What's the matter? Are you okay?" Stefan went towards Bonnie.

"When I touched him, I saw something." She turned to us, still looking very confused.

I raised a brow at Bonnie. "You saw a vision about what?"

"I saw Elena."

"You saw Elena?" Stefan questioned with a dubious look.

"He was kissing her."

"Now, that seems wrong,"I muttered and knitted my eyebrows.

"No, Bonnie, Elena wouldn't kiss…" Stefan pondered upon this for a minute and his face changed from confused to understanding. "You didn't see Elena."

Then, it finally dawned on me. "You saw Katherine."

"Did you see anything else besides that?" Bonnie just shook her head no at Stefan's question. "I need to tell Damon about this." Stefan then went to look for the other Salvatore and I was left with Bonnie.

"You know, you were wrong." I sighed as she looked at me puzzled. "You were wrong when you said you lost Caroline."

"Are we really going to talk about this again? She's a vampire, Danny. I thought you of all people could understand how I feel because you're like me. But I was wrong, I can clearly see that you don't."

That just tipped me off the edge and I looked at her in frustration, because she had no right to say that to my face. "We didn't lose Caroline because she's still the same peppy blonde that we know. The only thing that changed is that she's a vampire. You only think that you lost her because she became what you despise the most. You should just be happy and thankful that she's alive and still breathing. She is our friend and will always be, no matter what she is or who she is."

"Danny…"

" _I get it._ You came to detest vampires since you lost a loved one because of Damon's selfish pursuits. But that does not justify, you giving Caroline a cold shoulder just because she became one of them. Did you even for once think that she didn't ask for this, or she felt guilty and terrified that she tainted her hands with an innocent's blood?" I hissed as tears started to brim Bonnie's eyes.

"I lost everything that I cherished in just a snap. After that, my only family was taken from me by a lunatic vampire _. Don't you for a second even think that I don't know how it feels because I do – more than you ever will._ " I took a deep breath and looked at her in the eye. "Caroline needs us, Bonnie. I know that it's hard to accept but snap out of it before you regret anything and lose another person close to you." I glared at her as she stared at me with a sad expression on her face. I then walked away from her to cool myself down.

"Danny…" Bonnie called but I just ignored her and kept on walking.

I was trying to look for an isolated place to cool my head off but yet again, Damon stopped me while Stefan appeared beside him. What was wrong with people stopping me every single time? _Can't I just get some peace and quiet for a minute?_ I mentally screamed.

"Damon, I'm not in the mood," I scowled at him and he didn't speak. Both he and Stefan just looked at me quite shocked.

"Danny, we just want to ask a favor. Please?" Stefan politely said.

I tilted my head out of curiosity. "What favor?"

"A favor to help us hunt the wolf and get answers from him." Damon smirked at me. I didn't like the sound of that. If I helped them get to Mason, knowing Damon, he would torture him for answers or worse, kill him for what he did to them. Stefan, on the other hand, probably wouldn't be able to control his impulsive brother.

"No, I'm not helping you."

"Come on, Danny. Mason is with Katherine, which means he's one of the bad guys."

"Damon," Stefan warned him but of course, his obnoxious brother didn't stop.

"Remember what he did yesterday? Werewolf boy toy plus evil slut vampire is equal to the evil dynamic duo."

"And, that is exactly why I won't help you." I narrowed my eyes at Damon. "I may be really close to punching him right now but he's still my friend. I won't put him in any harm because of something that petty."

I crossed my arms over my chest and continued, "The way I see it, you're just convincing me to help you so you can get your first chance to carry out your own revenge and kill him for what he did to you."

Damon was about to say something but I didn't let him. "I did tell you. Your impulsive actions just came back and bit you in the arse. My answer is final. If that's the only thing you want to ask me, then I'm leaving." I then walked away from the brothers, leaving no room for objections.

* * *

 **Damon**

"Well, that was unexpected." I looked at Danny's disappearing figure.

"No, I actually kind of expected that she would say no," Stefan told me and I just gave him a look that said to elaborate.

"Danny lost everything she had, Damon. Of course, she wouldn't want to lose another and she thinks helping us will threaten that."

As much as I didn't want her to be right, what she said was true. I would kill Mason Lockwood the first chance I got. "Well then, since witchy won't help us, let's go find my favorite Bennett witch."

Stefan only rolled his eyes at my sarcastic remark. We found Bonnie helping in the preparation for the masquerade ball.

"We need to talk," Stefan said to the witch.

She was about to complain so I grabbed her arm and dragged her to a secluded place, ignoring her complaints. From behind me, my brother was sending someone a message, probably Elena. She has been like that since this morning.

"Okay. This is as far as I go." Bonnie stopped and roughly yanked off her arm from my grasp.

"Okay." I let go of her arm.

She looked at me and scowled, "What do you want?"

"A favor."

"Like that's going to happen," she scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"So predictable." I looked at Stefan. "That's why I brought him."

"I know how you feel about helping us out, but since you're the one that linked Mason with Katherine, we finally have an opportunity to get an upper hand on both of them so, just hear us out," Stefan told him as his phone buzzed again.

"Pretty please," I added.

"I'm listening."

Suddenly, Stefan's phone rang and I mentally sighed because Elena just didn't know how to listen in times like this.

"I have to fill Elena in on what's going on." Stefan looked at me. "Can you play nice, please?"

"I guess." I shrugged as Stefan then answered his phone and walked away. Turning back to the witch, I said, "All you have to do is touch Mason Lockwood again to see if he gave Katherine the moonstone."

"My visions don't work like that. I don't get to ask questions."

"How inconvenient." I groaned and thought of another thing. "Although, let's talk about that little witchy juju thing you do with me. You know, the fun one where my brain bursts into flames? What is that?"

"That's me giving you an aneurysm. Your blood vessels go pop, but you heal quickly. So, I do it over and over again."

"Is it vampire specific?" I raised a brow at her.

"It would work on anyone with a supernatural healing ability."

"Good. Good, good." I smirked with a glint in my eyes.

"Damon, I'm not going to help you hurt him." She glared at me, making me frown.

"Mason Lockwood's a werewolf, Katherine's evil. They're the bad guys. Really? You're gonna play morality police with me right now?" The witch still wasn't convinced as I sighed and continued, "Let me put it to you another way: they're a threat to Elena. So you, witch, are going to get over yourself and help us."

Stefan walked back over to us. "Yeah, he meant that as a question with a 'please' on the end."

"Absolutely." After that, everything was in place and operation kill the Lockwood was on the go.

~~~~~X~~~~~

After my rendezvous this afternoon, I was currently rolling Mason's body in a blanket. Then, Stefan arrived and raised up the moonstone for me to see.

"All this for that?" I asked, standing up.

"Yep." Stefan then tossed me the moonstone and looked at the covered body. "I see you've exercised your usual restraint."

"Had to be done." I took Mason's phone to send Carol a message on behalf of the now dead Mason and started typing. "Carol, big opportunity in Florida, I'm going to be gone for a long time. Will send for my things once I get settled. Much love, Mason." I then sent the message.

"Let's get rid of the body." Stefan crouched down beside the body as I scanned through Mason's recent contacts. A smirk made its way to my face as I looked at a specific number.

"Oh, last number dialed. I wonder who that could possibly be?" My smirk widened as I clicked redial.

"No, no, no! Don't provoke her!" Stefan stood up and tried to stop me but I moved away.

Katherine answered thinking that I was Mason. "Mason, you should have been here an hour ago."

Stefan continued to try to get me off the phone but I pushed him back.

"Wrong boy toy," I replied with a smirk as Stefan slapped my hand and walked away in frustration.

"Damon. For once you've surprised me. I assume Mason is with you?"

"He's right beside me! Although, his heart's across the room."

"You shouldn't have," she hissed, making my smirk bigger.

"I've had a very busy day today. I killed a werewolf, found a moonstone. Hey, did you know that he hid the moonstone in the bottom of a well full of vervain? I guess he didn't trust you very much. Although, he did love you, poor guy." I continued to taunt her as Stefan shook his head in exasperation. "Hey, where are you? Because, you know, I could bring him over. Last goodbyes and all that."

"You have no idea what you've just done," Katherine sneered.

"Aww, did I put a kink in your master plan? I'm so sorry." I provoked her more.

"Do you honestly believe that I don't have a plan B? And if that fails, a plan C, then a plan D, and… you know how the alphabet works, don't you? By the way, how is little Danny? I hope she's fine."

My eyes widened after hearing about Danny. The witch might be a bitch most of the time but that didn't mean I completely hated her and she kept things interesting since coming here. In a really weird way, she was my friend.

"What the hell did you do to her?" I glowered at the Petrova bitch.

"Send my love to Stefan," she said one last time and hung up.

"Danny. Damon, we have to find Danny now." Stefan was on his way out when my phone suddenly rang. I froze after seeing who it was.

"Stefan." I looked at him as he stopped and turned to me. With one look on my face, he quickly knew who it was. I just hoped that witchy was fine.

* * *

 **Danielle**

After my encounter with Stefan and Damon, nothing, in particular, happened the rest of the day and that was definitely weird. Something was definitely wrong about this day because I never saw any of my friends again after that. My gut told me that they were up to something and I wasn't sure if it still had something to do with Mason.

After eating my dinner at the grill, I made my way to where my car was parked, which was in a slightly isolated part of the parking lot. While walking to my car, somehow, I felt that someone was following and watching me. However, when I turned around, no one was there. Okay, I really needed to get home and fast. A small scream escaped my lips as I turned back to the direction of my car because someone suddenly appeared in front of me.

I let go the breath I was holding once I saw who it was. " _You._ "

"Nice to bump into you here." The guy from a while ago smirked at me. _Jake was his name, I think._ "You know, I never got your name."

"Sorry, but I need to get home." I moved past him but he grabbed my arm and yanked me towards him, making me crash into him. "Let me go!"

"Come on now. Just tell me your name, sweet cheeks." He smiled flirtatiously as he pulled me closer to him. That was it!

"Let me go!" I stomped on his feet, causing him to yell in pain. After punching him in the gut, I punched his face and grabbed his arm and shirt. Pulling my weight forward, I flipped him over my body and he landed on the cold ground with a loud thud.

"That should teach you a damn lesson to leave me alone!" I glared at the despicable man as he lay on the ground, groaning in pain.

"How dare you!" a feminine voice suddenly yelled as a sharp, cold object thrust itself to my side. I screamed in pain while blood gushed out of my wound, as the woman thrust the blade further.

" _You bitch!_ You dared to hurt my Jake!" She removed the knife and I took this chance to elbow her face before scrambling away from her. Stepping backward, the girl touched her face while groaning. My attacker was actually the girl glaring at me when that Jake guy tried to flirt with me this morning.

" _You bitch!_ You're gonna pay for that and for hurting my Jake!" She charged at me again and I barely dodged it while clutching my gushing wound.

"Stop!" I tried my best to dodge another attempt to stab me. This woman was out for my blood and she paid no attention to my attempts to reason with her. She charged at me again but I sidestepped and caught her arm. I twisted her hand, knocking the knife out of her grip. She screamed a bit before I pushed her away from me.

" _Please stop_!" I groaned again as the pain on my side seemed to intensify by the second.

She picked up the knife again. "I'm gonna _kill_ you!"

The girl raised the knife to try and stab me again but I caught her wrist. I was pushed backward until my back hit a car, making me groan in pain. More blood gushed from my wound because of the impact. I had to do something or else I'd be done for.

" _Die, you bitch_!" She continued to try to push the knife further to stab me as I struggled to push back.

My heart erratically pounded in my chest as she was getting an upper hand. Then all of a sudden, adrenaline coursed through my body as I felt a surge of energy within me. Because of fear and desperation, my emotions went haywire and I lost control of my magic. The force of my magic pushed the girl backward and onto the ground with a loud thud.

Once the adrenaline stopped, I snapped out of it and fear quickly crept in, seeing the unmoving woman on the ground. I was about to check her when my whole body suddenly hurt and my blood boiled. A groan escaped my lips because of an awful headache I suddenly got. Then as fast as it came, it was gone.

"What the hell?" Snapping out of it, I immediately checked if the girl was all right after that impact caused by my magic. Blood was coming out of her nose, which caused my fear to worsen. My blood went cold when I didn't feel a pulse. Tears started to stain my cheeks as anxiety rushed through my body. " _Oh God, oh God!_ "

I couldn't stay here that much I knew. I needed to do something with the body and there was only one person I knew who could help me. Quickly getting my phone, I called the person and thankfully, he immediately answered.

"So, witchy, what kind of miracle happened to make you call me?"

"Da-Damon!" I choked, trying to calm myself.

"Danny?" Damon worriedly called but I was having a hard time breathing. "Danny, what's wrong?"

"This girl a-attacked me and I-I fought back…" Sobbing, I cried out, "Da-Damon, she's dead!"

"Danny, where are you?"

"A-at the grill."

"I'll be there." He hung up and within seconds, he and Stefan were here.

Damon saw the body and turned to look at me. His face turned dark, seeing my bloodied hand that was still clutching my side. "I'll get rid of the body. Stefan, get her out of here."

"You're bleeding." Stefan bit his wrist and placed it in front of me. "Here, Danny."

Taking his wrist, I drank a bit of his blood before pulling away. Scrunching my face, I definitely didn't like the taste of blood.

"Everything will be fine, Danny. We're here." Stefan quickly pulled me into an embrace when he saw my frightened and guilty expression. "Let's get you out of here."

Taking my car, Stefan quickly drove us to the boarding house and I still couldn't stop shaking. Once we arrived, he led to one of the rooms in the boarding house.

"Come here." He gently pulled me and led me to the bathroom. "Danny, go get cleaned. I'll just get you some clean clothes."

Nodding wearily, I went inside the shower after stripping off my clothes. I couldn't help but watch as the water turned red before going down the drainage. When I touched my side, my hands were tainted with the bloody remnants of my now healed wound, while the blood on my hands was quickly washed away by the water. Memories of the events a while ago popped into my head again as guilt and fear ran through my body. Tears ran down my cheeks as I desperately rubbed my hands together, trying to wash away everything, but I knew it was already there. My hands were already tainted with someone's blood.

"Danny?" Stefan's voice snapped me out of it. "I'll put the clothes here. I'm sorry, I only got you one of my shirts and boxers."

"I-It's okay, Stefan." I quickly got out of the shower and dried myself before putting the clothes Stefan gave me, which were clearly too big for me.

Stefan was not in the room when I got out of the bathroom. I took a seat on the bed and tried to calm down but nothing was working. After all, I've been ruminating on what happened moments ago. Once again, Stefan snapped me out of my thoughts. Since when did he come in? I never even noticed.

"Danny." Stefan handed me a mug of warm tea. "It'll help you calm down."

"Thank you." I shakily took the mug from him. Then, Damon came into the room and motioned for Stefan to go outside. I didn't know how but I could hear their hushed whispers clearly.

"How is she?" Damon asked his brother.

"Better than a while ago. But, she's still terrified and edgy." Stefan sighed and I could feel their stares. "Did you take care of it?"

"I did a little digging, compelled the passed-out guy on the ground. The girl didn't have anyone in town so no need to worry about that. I compelled the guy to forget and got rid of the body."

That took its toll on me as the stress and guilt all came rushing back. My body shook as I dropped the mug on the floor. The crashing sound of the mug caught the attention of the brothers as they came rushing it.

"I…" I looked at my shaking hands and all I could see was blood. I lost control and killed someone. "I…"

Stefan knelt down in front of me and cupped my face, wiping my tears. "Danny, hey, it's okay. It's okay now."

I looked at Stefan in the eye. "I-I killed an innocent girl."

"Danny, calm done. Everything will be fine."

" _How, Stefan_?" I cried out before looking at my shaking hands once more. "I lost control of my magic and I killed her!" As my emotions were all over the place, a surge of power rushed through my body and I started to lose control of my magic again. The lights in the room started to flicker while I struggled to breathe.

" _I'm a murderer!_ " I cried as more tears ran down my cheeks.

Damon and Stefan stared at me shocked as the older Salvatore breathed out, "Your eyes."

Confusion took over me as I tried to look for anything that would show me my reflection. A few meters behind Stefan was a mirror and I was petrified after seeing my reflection. Why were my eyes golden yellow?

" _Oh God, no! No_! _This isn't possible… I can't be!_ " I cried out.

"Danny! Danny, you have to calm down!" Damon yelled but I ignored it. The energy was flowing through my body and I couldn't control it. The lights continued to flicker and the ground shook.

" _I killed her! I'm a murderer – a monster!_ "

"Shh, Danny. Danny, look at me!" Stefan turned my face so I could look straight into his eyes. "Calm down. We're here, okay? Everything will be okay."

"Follow me, okay?" Stefan started to take deep breaths and I felt the need to follow him. "Take deep breaths, Danny. Deep breaths. That's it."

The younger Salvatore brushed the tears on my cheeks as the two of us took deep breaths. The ground gradually stopped shaking and the lights stopped flickering as I felt myself begin to calm down.

"Stefan, what's happening to me?" I sobbed as tears streamed down my face.

He gently stroked my hair and gave me a sad smile. "I don't know. I wish I did."

Another sob wracked through my body as I closed my eyes. Opening my eyes, I then felt Stefan stroke my cheeks while brushing my tears away.

"Hey, I promise it'll be okay." Stefan gently smiled at me and continued, "You're going to get through this, Danny. I know because you're one of the strongest and kindest people I know. Everything will be okay.

"Just don't think about it for now, okay?" he said as I slowly nodded.

Damon walked towards us and helped me up. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."

Both brothers slowly guided me to the bed and tucked me in after I climbed onto the bed. They were about to go when I called out to them and took a hold of Stefan's hand, making them face me.

"Please… can you please stay with me? I-I don't want to be alone."

The Salvatore brothers shared a glance before Stefan climbed onto the bed and held my hand. Damon, on the other hand, got a nearby chair and placed it beside the bed before sitting down.

"We'll stay here with you." Stefan gently smiled and slightly squeezed my hand.

"So, just go to sleep, Danny. We'll be here." Damon added, giving me a gentle smile for the first time.

"Thank you, Stef." Closing my eyes, I mumbled, "Thank you, Day."

My hand was lightly squeezed again before the fatigue and stress took their toll on me and I fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **Stefan**

A soft smile made its way on my face after hearing Danny thank us. When I looked over to Damon, he also had a small smile on his face as he watched her sleep. It was the first time that I heard her call us those nicknames and it felt kind of nice. It was like how I imagined my little sister would call us if we ever had one.

After a while, soft snoring filled my ears as Danny's breathing quickly became even. It really has been a rough night for her and now it took its toll on her. Damon motioned for me to follow him outside of the room. Gently removing Danny's hand in mine, I quietly went out of the room and followed my brother downstairs.

"She's a werewolf." Damon poured himself a glass of bourbon.

I crossed my arms over my chest and heaved a sigh. "I know. I saw it too, Damon."

He drank his bourbon and scrunched his face in confusion. "A werewolf and a witch. How is that possible?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Even Danny doesn't know too."

"Clearly. After seeing her breakdown just now, I don't doubt that." He poured himself another glass and drank it.

It broke my heart to see Danny breakdown a while ago. In the short time that I had known Danny, I had grown to like her with her kind persona and witty comebacks. She was like a sister that I'd always wanted but never had. From how I saw it, it was the same for Damon even though they bickered a lot. Even though Damon might not admit it, he saw Danny as a friend. They were friends in a really weird way. I just hoped that I could do something to help her because she didn't deserve this after all.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Here's a new chapter, guys! ;) Thank you so much for the follows, favorites, and reviews! They make me so happy, I really appreciate it. :) So, I changed a lot in this chapter too. The wrong thing I did before was that I didn't show how much finding out she's a werewolf and killing someone affected Danny. I tried to change that this chapter and I hope I was able to do it properly. I also added that sad but cute moment between Danny, Stefan, and Damon. I felt the need to put it because I wanted to give Danny any support to help her cope somehow with what happened that night - another thing I didn't do before. :( Anyways, the next chapter will show a very sassy Danny and quite a lot of things changed too. So, until next time guys! ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~

 ***Adela:** Thank you so much! :)

 ***PrincessMagic:** Thank you so much for reading! :) They're brotp and I just love seeing them interact with each other. ;)


	12. Chapter 11

**Danielle**

I woke up feeling the sunlight stream down my face. _Where am I?_ I thought while taking in the unfamiliar room that I was in. Then, last night's events came rushing back. Right, I stayed over in the Salvatore boarding house after what happened. Shaking my head, I tried not to relieve the horrible events yesterday.

I should thank them later for letting me stay and fixing the mess I made. It must have a real pain in the arse for them. A paper bag on the bedside table caught my attention. Standing up from the bed, I read the note attached to it and it definitely brought a smile to my face.

 _Here are some clothes for you. Got Blondie to get them for you._ _–_ _D_ , it said.

Taking the bag with me, I went to the bathroom to take a shower and once the water hit my skin, it relieved a bit of my fatigue and stress. Everything that happened last night replayed in my mind again and I couldn't get my shocking discovery out of my head. I was a werewolf. What was much worse was that I triggered my curse by accidentally killing someone while protecting myself.

As I thought about it now, nothing made sense to me. I didn't know how it was possible for me to have werewolf genes because as far as I knew, my parents were witches – not werewolves. There was this nagging feeling in me that my grandmother had most likely lied to me about a lot of things. However, I didn't want to believe that without knowing anything about what was happening to me, at least not until I knew more and found some sort of a proof.

One thing that I was sure of was that some of the things she told me didn't add up. Like how I was affected by the Gilbert device and she wasn't. Tyler hadn't triggered his curse then and he was affected, and so was I. Grandma might have lied to me about it too. I just couldn't think of any reason why she would lie and keep these from me.

Heaving another sigh, I stopped my train of thoughts because nothing was helping me at the moment. After getting ready, I took my bag and went downstairs to look for the brothers. To my surprise, everyone was here in the living room except for Elena. Damon and Alaric were talking about something and there were a lot of weapons on the table. Bonnie was here as well, scanning her grimoire.

"Hey, you're up." Noticing me, Stefan walked up to me and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." I smiled at him.

"That's good."

Biting my lip, I sighed and said, "Thank you for last night. I could just imagine how much of a total mess and a pain in the arse I was."

"Hey, don't worry about it." He gently touched my shoulder. "Everything is fine now. Besides, it's what friends are for, Danny."

I smiled, feeling more gratitude for the brothers. "But still, thank you."

"Uhh…" Eyeing my surroundings with confusion, I turned to Stefan again and asked, "What's going on?"

"We're going to kill Katherine." Jeremy spared me a glance as he passed by. Turning to Stefan, I gave him a look that demanded an explanation.

"I can explain."

"Please." I raised my brows.

He couldn't think of a better way to explain it so he said, "We're going to kill Katherine."

"No shit, Stefan." I looked at him with a blank face while he just shot me a sheepish smile.

"Come on." Stefan nudged his head to the direction where the others were and started walking.

"Hey guys," I greeted and stood beside Caroline.

"Hey," they replied.

Caroline worriedly turned to me and asked, "Are you okay?"

Damon and Stefan probably told her about what happened last night, seeing as she was looking at me full of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine now." I smiled to reassure her but she wasn't convinced. Caroline decided to drop it before giving me a look that we were talking about this later.

"This works with compressed air. The trigger mechanism is up here. There are two of these in a different size." Ric showed us a weapon before getting another one, which he recommended for Stefan. "For you, I recommend this. It fits nicely under the jacket sleeve. You use the trigger when you're ready." He then pretended to kill a vampire as Damon and Stefan gave him a look.

"You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire." Ric shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me after seeing me giggle.

Ric was still showing us how to use the weapons while Stefan talked with Bonnie regarding some matters. Bonnie and I haven't talked to her since our conversation during the preparation for the masquerade ball. I had to apologize to her for letting my anger get into me.

Then, Caroline suddenly dragged me to a corner in the room far from the others. "Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine, Care."

"Danny, you don't need to hide it from me, okay?" She crossed her arms over my chest. "How can you be fine when a psychotic girl just suddenly stabbed you because of her obsession with some random jerk?"

"My wound is healed, Care. You can even check it if you want." I shrugged my shoulders as she sighed.

"You know, I'm not talking about that. Danny, you can tell me. I've known you since we were kids. You're beating yourself up over what happened last night. It's not your fault, okay?"

"Care, how can I not beat myself over that? I lost control of my magic and killed someone."

"Danny, you were just protecting yourself." She still tried to convince me.

"Even if I was just protecting myself, I still killed her. It is my fault that that girl is now six feet under." I wrapped my arms around myself and swallowed thickly. "I'm a monster."

"Danny–" She tried to reason with me but I cut her off.

"Nothing you tell me can possibly change how I see it. I freaking killed someone and triggered my damn curse, which I never knew I had. I'm a werewolf, Care. A monster!"

"Danny, even if you're a werewolf, it doesn't mean…" Caroline heaved a sigh before her eyes widened and my words finally processed in her head. She then screamed, " _You_ _'_ _re a what?_ "

"Oh, crap…" I looked at Caroline with wide eyes, realizing my mistake. Caroline's scream brought the attention of the others in the house as they started to walk towards us.

"Caroline, calm down." I tried to calm my best friend, who still had her jaw hanging.

She then took my shoulders and shook me before screaming again, " _How are you a werewolf?_ "

" _What?_ " the others, who didn't know about it, yelled as they rushed to me.

"Stop yelling!" I glared at them and removed Caroline's hands on my shoulders. " _And, you stop shaking me!_ "

"My ears are very sensitive now and all of your yellings is making my head hurt." I rubbed my temples, hoping to soothe my growing headache. "I'll tell you but don't yell and ask me one at a time."

Sighing, I sat down on a nearby couch before pointing at the younger Gilbert. "Jeremy, you first."

"Aren't you a witch?"

"Yes, I'm a witch and apparently, I'm also a werewolf."

"How are you a wolf?" Ric asked while crossing his arm over his chest.

"I just found out last night after accidentally activating my curse." I thickly swallowed and felt my heart beating faster. "I was on my way home from the grill. This random guy flirted with me and started becoming pushy. So, I knocked him out and after that, this girl just suddenly came out of nowhere. She stabbed saying that I'll pay for what I did to the guy. I fought back and when she was starting to get an upper hand, I freaked and got scared. Because of my emotions became overwhelming, I lost control of my magic."

"The impact pushed her away from me and onto the ground. I accidentally killed her." I bit my bottom lip not daring to look at any of them because I didn't want to see how they looked at me. I just couldn't handle all of this right now.

"I'm sorry, Danny." Caroline gave me a sad smile as I returned it with one of my own.

"There's something you should know." Stefan sighed. "Katherine might be behind the incident last night."

"What do you mean?" I looked at him with knitted brows.

Damon caught my attention as he spoke this time, "Katherine asked how you were last night and hoped that you were fine in a phone call. She most likely compelled the girl to attack you."

"She most likely planned to trigger your curse right from the beginning." Stefan crossed his arms over his chest, giving me a look of sympathy.

"But, how did she know I'm a werewolf?"

"That's the beauty of Katherine. She's full of secrets and schemes," Damon answered.

Heaving a sigh, I rubbed my face in hopes of relieving just a bit of my stress. All of them were giving me those looks filled with pity again. I really hated it but I couldn't possibly tell them that straightaway.

"Let's go over the plan again," Damon said, making me sigh in relief and give him a small grateful smile. I was sure he saw it because he discreetly nodded his head.

"Are you sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" Ric asked again.

"No, I need you to stay with Elena," Stefan shook his head, "I don't want her to know about this."

"Okay. Well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight."

Stefan looked at all of the people in the room before saying, "All right, if anybody wants to back out, I'll understand."

"Yeah, cold feet speak now. I don't want this going wrong if someone chicken's out." Damon eyed every single one of us before stopping at Caroline. "Caroline."

"I won't. Look, she killed me. Fair's fair. As long as there's no werewolf running around." Caroline realized that she might have offended me by saying that and quickly turned to me to try to apologize. "Danny, I'm-"

"It's okay, Caroline." I smiled at the bubbly Blonde, making her sigh in relief.

"Oh, I took care of Mason," Damon smirked at Caroline, making me look at him with knitted brows. What did he mean by that? What the hell did I miss yesterday?

"I can lock myself down in the Lockwood cellar every full moon so I won't kill anyone. I can also drink wolfsbane to weaken myself." I wrapped my arms around myself and they all looked worried. I had no choice, I couldn't take any risks.

Jeremy decided to break the silence and added, "And, as long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn."

"Bonnie? Are you with us?" Stefan then turned to the Bennett witch. There was a long pause before she spoke.

"But no one gets hurt."

"Except Katherine. Tonight, Katherine gets a stake through her heart." Damon smirked at the thought of killing that lunatic.

Well, it was about time. That selfish vampire really knew how to push people's buttons. However, I couldn't help but feel that something just might go wrong today. I also had this gut feeling that this wouldn't go the way we wanted it to be. After a while, Caroline and the others left to prepare for tonight but I stayed behind. I just needed to confirm something so I went to the living room where the Salvatore brothers were.

"Oh, Danny, I thought you left with Caroline." Stefan smiled at me while Damon was pouring himself some bourbon.

"Can I ask you something?" I wrapped my arms around myself.

"Depends," Damon smirked. "Only if you're willing to be my date tonight."

Stefan rolled his eyes at his brother. "Sure, Danny."

I walked towards them. "What happened to Mason?"

Both of the brothers froze after hearing my question and none of them were answering me. They couldn't answer me so I just grabbed Damon's arm. Once I touched his hand, I saw everything and Mason's murder played like a recorded video clip in my head. My eyes were now brimmed with tears as I let go of Damon's arm. Damon looked at me guiltily as tears streamed down my face.

However, my tears were short-lived because my sadness turned into that of anger. The brothers tensed up when I glowered at them. "You killed Mason!"

The ground started to shake because of my magic and the brothers tensed up again. Damn it, why did this always happen?

"Danny, please calm down." Stefan's voice rang in my ears and he was right. I needed to get it together and learn how to control my magic before I hurt someone again. After a few deep breaths, I managed to calm down and take control again, stopping the ground from shaking.

"He was working for Katherine. It's for our own good," Damon calmly said.

"Did you for a second even think that I could have talked to him? Or, I could've just made him forget about Katherine?"

Nothing came out of his mouth and he just looked at me guiltily. I looked at him in the eye and slowly nodded my head, connecting the dots. "Just as I thought."

Stefan was about to say anything but I didn't let him. "I really appreciate what you did for me. I really do because for a moment, I felt that there is still hope for me out there. But please, leave me alone for a while because I can't… I need some time for myself." I then left the two brothers, without giving them a second glance.

~~~~~X~~~~~

Finding out about Mason's death really bothered me and I cried over it for a while. However, my current problems distracted me from it. I currently lay on my bed, finally giving up on finding anything that would help answer my questions. Two hours have passed since I attempted to find anything about my family line and about werewolves.

There were still a lot of questions bothering me, starting with the question of how the hell I was a werewolf. None of my family history and journals gave me anything substantial, and none of them suggested that any of my ancestors had werewolf gene. Turning to my side, I was about to give up but something caught my eye.

The locked chest that I found a few days ago was on top of my table. For the last couple of days, I haven't tried opening the chest since there were so many things happening. Then, this crazy idea suddenly came to me. _What if the answers to my question lay inside that chest?_

Standing up, I grabbed the chest before closing my eyes and muttering a spell to unlock it. Nothing happened again. After trying out the new spells that I learned, the chest still remained locked.

"Why the hell isn't anything working?" I groaned, lightly slamming my head to the table.

Looking up at the clock, I only had three hours left to prepare for the masquerade ball. A frustrated sigh escaped my lips because I needed to prepare now. As I looked at the chest once more, my desire to unlock it was yet again fueled. I promised myself that I would find my answers and I would open that box no matter what it took.

After two hours or so of preparing for the masquerade ball, I finally finished putting the finishing touches of my makeup and my hair was already curled to perfection. I then put on my burgundy, halter dress that was paired with beige embellished high heel sandals. My mask was a gold laser cut mask decorated with a hint of blue linings, which made the rhinestones stand out. Looking at myself one last time, I had to admit that I did a fine job making myself presentable.

"Now, I'm ready to go." I grabbed my mask and drove to the Lockwood mansion.

Lockwood mansion was already packed and many people were already having a good time. Putting on my mask, I went to look for the Bonnie and Jeremy because I had to help in setting the room up. We met near the entrance of the Lockwood mansion.

"Let's go." Jeremy started walking as Bonnie and I followed him. However, we stopped in our tracks when we saw a very familiar brunette dressed in a black dress.

"We need to wait and find another way." Jeremy was about to look for another way when I held his arm and stopped him.

"You two stay here. I'll distract her." I glanced at both of them before looking back to the evil doppelganger.

" _Are you crazy?_ " Bonnie exclaimed, grabbing my arm. "She'll hurt you or worse kill you!"

"No, she won't. If she planned to do that, she would've already. She needs me for something. I'll be okay." I looked at Bonnie in the eye. "We have to go through the plan and it needs to go smoothly. I have to do this."

I turned back to Jeremy and uttered, "I'll get her away from here and distract her. When you find the chance, go."

Jeremy nodded while Bonnie sighed in defeat and took my arm before saying, "Stay safe."

"I will." I nodded and walked towards Katherine's direction. Just as according to my plan, she followed me outside of the house. Standing outside, I pretended to look at my surroundings as she stopped right beside me.

"Looking for someone, little witch?" Her annoying voice rang in my ears.

"As a matter of fact, I am. I'm looking for a psychotic, manipulative, doppelganger wench who can't get over her little, miserable self." I turned to Katherine, who was glaring at me. "You've got some guts showing your face to me."

"Aw, poor little Danny woke up at the wrong side of the bed today." She smirked, making me narrow my eyes at her.

"I know it was you all along last night and I assure you. You won't get away with it." I glared at her, causing her to smirk.

"Please don't make me laugh," Katherine mockingly laughed, "You're just a lost, beaten, little puppy who has no single clue of who she really is. You can't possibly hurt me with the pathetic and miserable person that you are."

"Well, let's just see what you would do when this lost, beaten, little puppy digs up your dirt. Starting with the moonstone and the people you're running from." I smirked when her face fell and anger was etched all over her face. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hit a nerve?"

"I'm gonna tear you apart limb by limb until you cowardly run for your pathetic life," she snarled at me, making my smirk widen.

"Ohh, Kitty-Kat got claws." I crossed my arms over my chest, not dropping the smirk on my face. "You know, your threat really makes me want to laugh my arse off. If you wanted me dead, you would've killed me a long time ago and yet, I'm still breathing and mocking you right at this moment. Did you honestly think I'm that dumb to not know that you need me for something?"

Katherine was merely glaring at me and not saying anything at all for once while I laughed at her mockingly.

"Poor Kitty Kat, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" I smirked at her, making her glare intensified. "You really are pathetic, aren't you? I could just laugh all night watching that pathetic look on your face."

"Let me make this clear to you." Taking a step forward, I dropped my smirk and it was replaced with an innocent yet sickly-sweet smile. Despite the smile on my face, my whole demeanor screamed of threat and malice. "You're lucky were in here right now because if we weren't, there would've been another round of your pathetic defeat. Only this time, you'll just end up as a burnt corpse."

There was a hint of fear in her eyes as she looked at me straight in the eye, causing my lips to quirk up into another smirk.

"Well, hope you have sweet dreams later. Have a good night, Kitty Kat." I smiled one last time before leaving her standing there with a stunned look on her face. Okay, I had to admit. That kind of felt good for some reasons. It felt good to know that somehow, I had managed to outsmart Katherine Pierce. My phone suddenly buzzed and I just got a text from Jeremy.

 _It_ _'_ _s done_ , it said.

 _I_ _'_ _ll see you guys soon_ , I replied.

Because I wasn't looking at where I was going, I bumped into a lady wearing a dark brown dress. She had a long dark brown hair with light brown highlights that went past her shoulders. She also had cocoa brown skin and she was pretty tall.

"I'm sorry!" I helped her steady herself. "I wasn't looking at where I was going."

"It's all right." She smiled at me and there was suddenly a weird feeling that I got after touching her. Her face was covered with a mask so I wasn't sure if I knew her but I most likely didn't.

"I'm sorry but are new in town? You're a new face." I smiled at her.

"Yeah, I'm just plus one. It's a really great party." She smiled back and got a glass of cocktail. "I'm sorry but I need to find my friend."

"Oh, sure. I'm sorry for keeping you." I smiled one last time before she left.

Okay, that was really weird. It didn't feel like death so she wasn't a vampire. The strange feeling was actually a bit warm. Pushing the feeling aside, I went to look for Bonnie and Jeremy. Finally, I found them sitting in one of the tables outside.

Bonnie quickly noticed me and rushed to hug me. "Thank God, you're okay!"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I pulled away from her and asked, "Everything's according to plan?"

"Yup, we're just waiting for the signal now." Jeremy smiled at me and hugged me. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Well, she didn't do anything." I shrugged and sat down on the chair.

Jeremy sat down and suddenly asked both of us, "So, can you do like a hocus pocus to ace a test?"

"I don't know that spell." Bonnie shook her head.

"Same." I got a cocktail and drank a bit of it.

"It'd be like the first one I'd learn or maybe like a sex spell or something. I don't know," Jeremy rambled before turning to Bonnie. "Do you want to dance or something while we're waiting?"

"No!" Bonnie quickly declined but when she saw the look on his face, she quickly corrected herself. "I mean no thank you."

Now, this just got very interesting. I smirked at the two while bringing the glass of cocktail to my lips. Jeremy was disappointed but it was only for a while since he got a message – most likely the signal that it was his turn. He looked at us and we just gave him a nod. When he left, there was suddenly a tension in the air. _Okay, this was it. Time to make amends._

"Hey…" we both said at the same time.

"I just want to say…" we said it together again, making us laugh.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you." I smiled apologetically. "It was very insensitive of me. Of course, it would still be hard on you to trust vampires."

"No, it should be me who should say sorry." Bonnie shook her head, smiling. "It was very insensitive and inconsiderate of me, especially towards you. I should actually thank you because you made me realize that without even knowing it, I was letting go of something important. You made me realize it before everything was too late so thank you."

"Thank you for being my friend." Bonnie hugged me and I gladly accepted it.

"Well, that's what friends are for right? We have each other's backs." I pulled back and smiled. Our friendship moment was cut short when Jeremy came back with Elena.

"You guys are trying to kill her here?" Elena questioned us as soon as she came.

"We saw an opportunity and we knew we had to take it." Jeremy shrugged his shoulders.

Elena scrunched her face and sighed in frustration. "Okay, stop with the 'we', are you guys crazy? You're going to get yourselves killed."

"We know what we're doing, Elena." Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest.

"And, how am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because of me?"

"It's not just you anymore, Elena." I heaved a sigh, wrapping my arms around myself. "She's messed with all of us. She has to be stopped."

All of a sudden, I felt a pain in my back and blood gushed out of my wound that just magically appeared. A scream of pain escaped my lips as I leaned on to the table. I could just feel my dress feeling damp as it got stained with my blood. Elena was also experiencing the same thing.

"Danny, Elena!" Bonnie and Jeremy yelled as they helped us steady ourselves. They uttered something but I couldn't understand because the pain was distracting me. After that, I felt another pain in my right arm, making me whimper, while Elena let out another cry.

"What's going on?" Jeremy worriedly looked at Elena and me.

As the realization hit Bonnie, she then yelled, "Jeremy, it's Katherine. They're linked to Katherine, get them to stop! Now!"

Jeremy made the run for it. I thought that it was the end but I was very wrong. Suddenly, another wound appeared on my right hand, making me whimper in pain. Bonnie rushed to help me but I stopped her.

"No, help Elena. She needs you more." Bonnie hesitated so I sternly yelled, " _Go_!"

Bonnie quickly went to tend to Elena. On the other hand, some of my wounds were gradually starting to heal.

"Bonnie, it hurts." Elena looked at the said person.

"I can't break the spell, Elena. I'm sorry but I can try to take some of the pain away. Okay? Okay?" She took Elena's hand into hers and started to chant a spell. "Ascinda, mulaf, hinto, ascinda..."

"Are you okay?" Jeremy came back to us.

"Are they?" Elena glanced at her brother.

"They're stuck in there with her." Jeremy nodded before turning to Bonnie. "You were right. Katherine had a witch link them to her."

Then, it hit me – that girl a while ago. I then groaned in pain, "There's another witch here."

"The girl I saw, the one inside!" Bonnie's eyes widened as she stood up and started to leave. "Stay with them, keep pressure on Elena's shoulder!"

Jeremy looked at the Bennett witch in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"There's another witch here. I'm going to find her!" She then hastily went back inside. Jeremy removed his magical ring and gave it to Elena.

Elena shook her head. "No."

"Take it."

"No, Jeremy…"

"Elena, listen to me, you need this more than I do." He insisted, holding the ring in front of his sister.

Elena only shook her head and said, "No Jeremy. What I need is for you to be safe."

He then turned to me and handed the ring. I just shook my head while taking a breather.

"No, Jeremy. Elena is right. You should keep it. Besides, it won't work on me or on Elena because we're supernatural beings." He looked dejected and placed the ring back on his finger. The rest of the time, we just tried to rest and waited for Bonnie to come back. One of the perks of being a werewolf was the most of my wounds were healed now.

* * *

 **Katherine**

The Salvatore brothers and I were still trapped in this room after their plan to kill me just backfired on them. Damon was by the door trying to get his hand through while Stefan was just standing on one side.

Groaning, Damon cursed and paced around the room. "Damn it! Where is that witch?"

"We could play charades," I suggested, a smirk making its way on my face.

"You bargained the moonstone," Stefan mumbled.

"What are you mumbling about over there?" Damon weirdly looked at his brother.

"When you struck a deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told me that you gave George something that he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?" Stefan said in a louder voice.

"Good for you, Stefan. 2+2...And it would have worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." I smirked before looking at Damon. "Thanks to you, by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"

"You and me both, honey," he scowled at me.

"Why do you need it back?" Stefan crossed his arms over his chest.

"I love you in a suit, so dashing."

"What were you doing with it in the first place?" he asked me again.

Damon sighed and looked at his brother. "You're wasting your breath, Stefan."

"Unless it wasn't yours to begin with. In 1864, you faked your death. Who were you running from, Katherine?"

I froze for a bit but I quickly composed myself before they noticed. "In 1987, you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places with that wench, Lexi."

The look on his face just caused my smirk to widen. "Come on Stefan, don't look so surprised. Of course, I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi and I was watching you."

"Who were you running from?" He pressed.

 _I love you_ , I mouthed to Stefan before sitting on the couch again. Damon had enough of this and poured himself a glass of Scotch.

"We're missing the party. I'll have one of those." I told Damon.

"Right away Miss Katherine." He mimicked the voice of a servant boy.

"Thank you." I took the glass from Damon and drank it but he pushed me against the wall. He tried to stake me but Stefan stopped him.

"No, no! Damon, don't!"

"Yes, Damon, please," I sweetly told him while playing with his tie.

"The second the spell is lifted, I'm going to drive a stake right through your heart," Damon snarled while glaring at me.

"God, you're hot. When did you get so hot?"

Then, Lucy arrived with the moonstone in her hand. "Katherine, the spell on this room has been broken, you're free to leave."

"Thank God." I sighed in relief.

"When I hand this over, my debt to you is over."

"Done."

"I owe you nothing," she said again.

"I said done. Give it." I was growing annoyed by the minute.

"I wouldn't do that," Damon warned her but Lucy ignored him and gave me the moonstone. The minute I touched it, I couldn't breathe.

"You should have told me there were witches involved. She's a Bennett witch and the other one was a Sullivan, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that." She hissed while I looked at her full of betrayal.

"Wait, Elena and Danny!" Stefan yelled worriedly.

"They're fine," she said but it was barely audible to me as I fell onto the floor. "The spell is broken. They'll heal quickly, Bonnie's with them. I apologize for my involvement."

I was suffocating; I wanted it to stop. Lucy's eyes met mine one last time before darkness took over me.

~~~~~X~~~~~

I woke up in what seemed like a tomb. The moonstone was on the floor right next to me so I took it. Getting up, I attempted to leave but I was trapped. Damon arrived with a smug smirk.

"Hello, Katherine." His smirk just grew bigger.

"Where am I?"

"Where you should have been all along. I thought you'd have learned your lesson by now, messing with a Bennett witch."

I looked at him in horror before saying, "You should have killed me."

"Death would have been too kind." He went towards the door to close it.

"No, Damon, don't. Damon, don't. You need me. Danny and Elena are in danger," I desperately said.

"From who?" I didn't answer. I couldn't say that man's name. "You're lying, you're always lying."

"Why do you think I haven't killed them? Because Elena is the doppelganger and Danny is a Sullivan witch. People will come for Danny because she is that powerful and special. They need to be protected." I hopelessly convinced him.

"Then I'll protect them, while you rot in hell." He glared at me one last time before he closed the door.

"No, Damon, don't! I'll do anything, please. Damon! You need me! Damon! You need me! You need me!" The door was closed. Tears were starting to stain my face as I hit the door very hard. My efforts were futile though and I dropped to the ground in terror, thinking about my days inside this hellish tomb.

* * *

 **Danielle**

I was walking outside of the Lockwood mansion, making my way to parking lot. Wasn't I just so lucky today? I got linked to the vampire that I hated the most. I sustained wounds because of her and now, I was a bloody mess and sluggish. I just wanted to get home, take a long bath, and sleep. When I was about to open my car door, someone covered my mouth with a hankie and then everything went black.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Here's a new chapter, guys! ) I'm super sorry for not updating for 9 months. College life had been really hectic so I couldn't write these past few months. :( I'll try to update again as soon as possible and the good news is the next chapter is already in the making. Thank you so much for the follows, favorites, and review! It makes me so happy, I really appreciate it. :) I changed a lot in this chapter too and there is that confrontation between Katherine and a very sassy Danny. Anyways, I already planned out most of the next chapters and basically, a lot of things changed. So, until next time guys! ;)

\- Sylkes

~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~

 ***** **Adela:** Thank you so much for reading! :)

 ***MageVicky:** Thank you so much for reading! :) There are more of that stuff to come. ;)  
 ***** **Azera-v** **:** Thank you so much for reading! :) I thought I'd write that scene for the rewritten version because I kinda messed up in the old one. :)

 ***** **Lyryenn:** Thank you so much for reading and the review! I appreciate it a lot! :) There are more Salvatore brothers and Danny moments in the upcoming chapters. ;)


End file.
